Four experiments are described in which 1 visual object (the target) was selected from another (the distractor) according to its color (Experiments 1, 2, and 4) or its relative location (Experiment 3) and then was classified according to a simple geometric property. Object classification was signaled as fast as possible by a precision or power…

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is due to the silencing of a single X-linked gene and it is associated with striking attentional difficulties. As FXS is well characterised at the cellular level, the condition provides a unique opportunity to investigate how a genetic dysfunction can impact on the development of neurocomputational properties relevant to…

Four experiments investigated the conditions contributing to sensorimotor alignment effects (i.e., the advantage for spatial judgments from imagined perspectives aligned with the body). Through virtual reality technology, participants learned object locations around a room (learning room) and made spatial judgments from imagined perspectives…

In testing factorial invariance, researchers have often used a reference variable strategy in which the factor loading for a variable (i.e., reference variable) is fixed to 1 for identification. This commonly used method can be misleading if the chosen reference variable is actually a noninvariant item. This simulation study suggests an…

I review the literature on the impact on student achievement of high-stakes testing. Its popularity as a mechanism for holding educators accountable has triggered studies to examine whether its promise to increase student learning has been fulfilled. The review concludes there is no consistent evidence to suggest high-stakes testing leads to…

Intake urinalysis test result (drug positive vs. negative) has been previously identified as a strong predictor of drug abuse treatment outcome, but there is little information about how this prognostic factor may interact with the type of treatment delivered. The authors used data from a multisite study of abstinence incentives for stimulant…

According to the Memory for Past Test (MPT) heuristic, judgments of learning (JOLs) may be based, in part, on memory for the correctness of answers on a previous test. The authors explored MPT as the source of the underconfidence with practice effect (UWP; A. Koriat, L. Sheffer, & H. Ma'ayan, 2002), whereby Trial 1 overconfidence switches to …

The testing effect, or the finding that taking an initial test improves subsequent memory performance, is a robust and reliable phenomenon--as long as the final test involves recall. Few studies have examined the effects of taking an initial recall test on final recognition performance, and results from these studies are equivocal. In 3…

The purpose of this study was to determine the affects of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) on Family and Consumer Science (FACS) program sustainment in the state of Arizona. FACS programs were not addressed in the NCLB mandates, but are part of the Arizona secondary education programming. FACS programs had seen a decrease in the number of…

The purpose of this mixed method study was to compare current practices of athletic trainers in the management of concussion in football at California Community Colleges (CCC) with the concussion management guidelines set forth by the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA). The study also set out to gain understanding of why some athletic…

The purpose of this action research case study was to explore attitudes and beliefs regarding strategies to improve math placement scores for low-socioeconomic community college students at an urban campus. Using a pragmatic worldview, qualitative techniques were used to gather data to explore this problem at a single community college located in…

In 1996, we published an article that investigated the characteristics of basic language testing courses in terms of the instructors, course characteristics, and students. The present study is designed to describe the same characteristics of basic language testing courses in 2007 and to examine how such courses have changed since 1996. To those…

The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the application of Dutch versus US test procedures and norms of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-2nd edition (BSID-II) leads to different developmental outcomes. The BSID-II was administered to 376 preterm infants (191 males, 185 females; mean gestational age 30wks [SD 2.7], mean…

This paper analyzes the contradictory location of the professional and managerial new middle class within the rising tension between old systems of the industrial capitalist model of education, epitomized by a reliance on high-stakes, standardized testing and the newer forms of production associated with the "fast" capitalism of the global…

In response to Barry McGaw's article "The role of the OECD in international comparative studies of achievement", this contribution explores two issues which the author considers closely interrelated. The first issue concerns the quality of the items produced to assess reading skills in the OECD-PISA and OECD-SIALS studies and the…