Although language sample analysis (LSA) is considered an important tool for high-quality child language assessment, surveys have found that its use is quite limited by school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Two of the reasons often cited are limited time and limited expertise (Kemp & Klee, 1997; Pavelko et al., 2016). This study…

The present study examines effort in narrative creative writing (operationalized as time-on-task) using a new assessment approach, the storyboard task. Participants (N = 125) completed alternate forms of the storyboard task in two sessions five weeks apart. They also completed measures of divergent thinking and self-reported ideational behavior.…

In this feasibility study, we present a newly developed observational system, Optimizing Learning Opportunities for Students (OLOS). OLOS is designed to elucidate the learning opportunities afforded to individual children within early childhood classrooms and as they transition to formal schooling (kindergarten through third grade). OLOS records…

Post-school employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities continue to be inadequate when compared to their peers without disabilities (Newman et al., 2011). One barrier to employment for individuals with disabilities is a lack of employment "soft skills" (Riesen, Morgan, Schutlz, & Kupferman, 2014), such as punctuality and…

Mastery motivation is an important developmental construct that has implications for development across the lifespan. Research to date has focused predominantly on infants and children, with the Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ) being the most widely used measure of mastery motivation. This article reports on the development and initial…

Results from a multiple baseline with changing conditions design across high school students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) indicated that the students increased the percentage of independent work they completed in their general education biology class after learning tactile-cued self-monitoring. Students maintained high…

Correctional education's primary goal is to reduce recidivism and increase employment among ex-offenders. The Bureau of Prison's practical goal in its mandatory GED program is to maximize the number of inmates obtaining the GED in a given time period. The purpose of this research is to model the number of instructional hours an inmate requires to…

Self-determination is the freedom to make choices that impact an individual's life. Many people would agree that self-determination leads to an enhanced quality of life, and choice making is considered a central element in self-determination. Most learn choice making through a gradual release of responsibility by caregivers throughout their…

Although direct observation is one of the most frequently used assessment methods by school psychologists, studies have shown that the number of observations needed to obtain a dependable estimate of student behavior may be impractical. Because direct observation may be used to inform important decisions about students, it is crucial that data be…

This paper describes convergent validity evidence regarding the mandatory, standards-based Chilean national teacher evaluation system (NTES). The study examined whether NTES identifies--and thereby rewards or punishes--the "right" teachers as high- or low-performing. We collected in-depth teaching performance data on a sample of 58…

This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a self-monitoring procedure on increasing attending to task and academic accuracy in two elementary students with autism in their self-contained classroom. A multiple baseline across participants in two academic subject areas was used to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. Both…

REL Appalachia conducted a systematic review of the research evidence on the effects of increased learning time. After screening more than 7,000 studies, REL Appalachia identified 30 that met the most rigorous standards for research. A review of those 30 studies found that increased learning time does not always produce positive results. However,…

Resources matter. How well schools and districts use their people, time, and money is often even more important than how much they receive. Education Resource Strategies' extensive research with districts and schools shows that despite differences in school level, size, location, student population, or even instructional focus, high-performing…

Twelve behaviorally disordered special education students were randomly placed in one of three groups: self-recording, self-recording plus backups, and a control group. On-task and academic responding was significantly higher for both experimental groups, but the performance of the two self-monitoring groups was not statistically different.…

In time-on-task observations, the effects of variations in methodological characteristics on the importance of time-on-task for student achievement were examined. Substantive conclusions were affected by variations in five areas with the greatest differences due to changes in the duration and number of days of observation. (CM)