Presents new paradigm for research with street children, using street researchers who act as novices in a new culture, taught by children, yet maintain professional integrity and identity. Discusses the transformed researcher role, countertransference, new conceptualizations of time and space, testing behaviors, value-based research, and…

The impact of examiner eye contact versus no eye contact during administration of the Digit Span subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III was examined for 40 college students and 41 high school students. Results suggest that eye contact did not improve performance and was not preferred by subjects. (SLD)

Uses structural equation modelling to examine the relationship between learning strategy use and second-language test performance (SLTP) in 1,382 high- and low-ability test takers. Results showed metacognitive strategy use and SLTP models produced similar factorial structures for each group; cognitive strategy use models differed. This suggests…

Considers the use of multiple forms of assessment in the social studies classroom. Focuses on writing assessments, such as response notebooks and the I-Search essay, utilizing a rubric, the change in student projects that accompanies the incorporation of multiple assessments, and changes in tests and quizzes. Provides three recommendations for…

Discusses the Maryland School Performance Assessment (MSPAP), addressing the benefits of MSPAP and the teachers' call for assistance. Focuses on the use of the Internet to (1) disseminate information about assessment to parents and students and (2) offer professional development for teachers on instructional and assessment strategies. (CMK)

Investigated similarities and differences between Egyptian Arabic and American English refusals using a modified version of the discourse completion test. Thirty U.S. interviews resulted in 298 refusals, and 24 Egyptian interviews resulted in 250 refusals. Results indicate both groups use similar strategies with similar frequency in making…

Documents three coordinated, exploratory studies that developed empirically a framework to describe the decisions that experienced writing assessors make when evaluating English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language (ESL/EFL) written compositions. The studies are part of ongoing research to prepare a new scoring scheme and tasks for the writing component…

Tested how domain-related knowledge, syntactic complexity, and reading topic influence inference generation in the written recalls of English-speaking participants after they read Spanish historical texts. Three types of inferences were examined: within-text inferences, elaborative inferences, and incorrect inferences. (Author/JL)

Activation of change processes in cognitive capacity of 71 institutionalized adults with mental retardation in four age groups was investigated after the Instrumental Enrichment Program. The initial and final test scores of adults with Down syndrome were lower than those of adults with other forms of mental retardation. (Contains extensive…

Looked at the foreign language vocabulary learning and forgetting in experienced foreign language learners, using a paired-associate training technique in which native-language words were paired with pseudowords. Cognates and concrete words were easier to learn and less susceptible to forgetting than noncognates and abstract words. (Author/VWL)

Describes a series of communicative tasks designed for use by learners of Thai as a second or foreign language and reports on a study that tested the tasks' effectiveness at providing opportunities for learners to focus on linguistic form during conversational interaction. (Author/VWL)

Reviews developments in language testing research and practice over the last 20 years, and suggests future directions in the areas of professionalizing the field and validation research. Argues that concerns for ethical conduct must be grounded in valid test use, so that professionalization and validation research are inseparable. (Author/VWL)

Investigates how schemata activated by culturally familiar words might have influenced students' cloze test-taking processes. Subjects were Japanese English-as-a-foreign-language students. Results demonstrate that students who read culturally familiar cloze texts tried to solve more items and generally understood the text better, which resulted in…

Investigates the development of rhythmic perception in Italian primary school children and its correlation to other subjects. Demonstrates a significant improvement in fourth graders' ability to discriminate duration and rhythms and indicates very few correlations with other types of school learning. Believes that the results emphasize the special…

Examines the effect of knowledge about language on the learning of foreign language skills and grammar. Students (n=252) completed a questionnaire, metalinguistic awareness test, Raven's Progressive Matrices Test, a linguistic creativity test, and English tests. Hypothesized that students' knowledge about language would have a significant effect…