Comparisons were made of test scores derived from a sample of American Indian students attending grades 2 through 10, living in a Bureau of Indian Affairs dormitory, and enrolled either in an English as a Second Language Program (N=43) or in the regular school program (N=87) to determine ESL impact on Indian students' English vocabulary,…

The selections in this collection pertain to the predicaments faced by the biographer who must discover what he believes is the truth and then use this material to create a work of compelling interest. Arnold L. Fein, J. H. Plumb, and Hesketh Pearson present observations on the biographer's dilemma: the difficulty of determining the borderline…

To determine whether change orientation was a measurable characteristic of vocational teachers, an instrument was developed consisting of eight attitude subscales designed to measure change orientations relating to: (1) reducing the number of under-prepared people entering the labor market, (2) meeting the needs of disadvantaged students, (3)…

A study reviewed outcomes of 34 prevention programs for children (ages 5-18) that produce improvements in specific psychological symptoms or in factors directly associated with increased risk for child mental disorders. The following conclusions can be made regarding validated programs: (1) short-term preventive interventions produce time-limited…

In many countries throughout the world, efforts to articulate the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of workers have translated into the development of organizations with the specific charter to establish industry-based skill standards with attendant new and/or expanded forms of certification of competencies. The new emphasis on skill…

Recommends confronting the problem of validity in intercultural research by adopting research approaches that focus on the problem (for example, ethnopsychoanalysis, intercultural psychology). Briefly reviews the current debate on intercultural-comparative research. Concludes with examples and a discussion of the recent developments in comparative…

Using portfolios in assessing literacy is explored, considering student portfolios and the teacher's class portfolio. Portfolio assessment is a valuable complement to externally mandated tests, but technical issues must be addressed if the portfolio movement is to survive. Portfolios must be linked to the broader task of instructional improvement.…

Increasing emphasis on assessment and concern about assessment techniques have stirred interest in alternative assessment forms, for which evidence is needed about consequences, transfer of performance on specific assessment tests, and assessment fairness. Criteria concerning consequences, fairness, transfer-generalizability, cognitive complexity,…

This study for the Kentucky Department of Education identified and validated teacher competencies for teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. The competencies address assessment, consultation, social skills development, behavior management, instructional programing/curriculum, personal/professional aspects, cognition,…

Reports on a study of Web-based learning environments in Singapore that focuses on the cross-validation of the Geography Classroom Environment Inventory (GCEI) which assesses undergraduate students' perceptions of psychosocial aspects of their Web-based instruction. Examines gender equity, instructional innovation, internal consistency…

Professors John M. Barron and Michael E. Staten's article in Vol. 34, No. 3 of this journal, "Usage of Credit Cards Received through College Student-Marketing Programs," purports to "provide benchmark measures of college student credit card usage." Based on empirical analyses of proprietary industry data, they conclude that "There is no…

This article reports the development and psychometric properties of the Feminist Supervision Scale (FSS), a new scale designed to assess feminist supervision practices in clinical supervision. This 32-item measure was developed using a rational/theoretical approach of test construction and includes four subscales: (a) collaborative relationships,…

"VIEW: An Assessment of Problem Solving Style" (Selby, Treffinger, & Isaksen, 2002) is a new instrument for assessing problem-solving style, for use with individuals from ages 12 through adult. It measures three dimensions of style relating to creative problem solving and change management. In this article, we discuss the…

This paper reports on a case study that evaluates the validity of assessing students via a computerized peer-marking process, rather than on their production of an essay in a particular subject area. The study assesses the higher-order skills shown by a student in marking and providing consistent feedback on an essay. In order to evaluate the…

Inappropriate assessment procedures result in the misdiagnosis, misidentification, and misplacement of many African American students in special education. This article discusses poor teacher judgment, lack of cultural awareness among teachers, cultural discontinuity between home and school, and bias inherent in current tests used in special…