Existing research indicates that there is a disproportionate number of students with cultural and linguistic differences, English Language Learners (ELL), who are misidentified as learning disabled when their problems are due to cultural and/or linguistic differences. As a consequence, these students do not receive appropriate services. With the…

Personality scores were used to construct three databases of global norms. The composition of the three databases varied according to percentage of cases by global region, occupational group, applicant status, and gender of the job candidate. Comparison of personality scores across the three norms databases revealed that the magnitude of the…

This study sought to determine the extent of the serial position effect in listening to French and to specify the relationship between problem areas in listening to French and the position effect. The study addressed three hypotheses relative to the serial position effect and listening to French: (1) Was there a significant difference between the…

This digest examines the use of standardized, nationally normed testing in assessing the progress of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students and describes alternative forms of assessment. For years, researchers have criticized the overuse of standardized, nationally normed tests to assess learner and school success. Problems with such…

This report contains results of a field test conducted to determine the relationship between a Graduate Records Examination (GRE) linear computer-based test (CBT) and a paper-and-pencil (P&P) test with the same items. Recent GRE examinees participated in the field test by taking either a CBT or the P&P test. Data from the field test…

The estimation of the internal consistency of a newly constructed instrument using Cronbach's coefficient alpha is demonstrated. This study sought to determine the relationship, if any, between an individual's cognitive style and the preference for certain kinds of information used in making decisions. Cognitive style was determined with the Myers…

The Toronto Board of Education Benchmarks are libraries of reference materials that demonstrate student achievement at various levels. Each library contains video benchmarks, print benchmarks, a staff handbook, and summary and introductory documents. This book is about the development and the history of the benchmark program. It has taken over 3…

This Monte Carlo study examined the effect of complex sampling of items on the measurement of differential item functioning (DIF) using the Mantel-Haenszel procedure. Data were generated using a three-parameter logistic item response theory model according to the balanced incomplete block (BIB) design used in the National Assessment of Educational…

This paper deals with the problems that arise in performance assessment from the granularity that results from having a small number of tasks or prompts and raters of responses to these tasks or prompts. Two problems are discussed in detail: (1) achieving a satisfactory degree of reliability; and (2) equating or adjusting for differences of…

Science process skills such as observing, classifying, inferring, interpreting, predicting, and hypothesizing can all be classified as a sub category of thinking skills. This book is part of the series "Strategies for Learning" that focuses on the step-by-step development and application of thinking skills as a vehicle for learning science. The…

Recently, several states have expressed interest in linking their statewide assessments to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in the hope that, through equating, they can be compared to national results. This study considers the degree to which existing statewide assessments may be linked to NAEP, without violating the basic…

The Indiana State Assessment System, new for the 1995-96 school year, will emphasize student-constructed answers in both language arts and mathematics in grades 3, 4, 8, 10, and 12. Optional classroom performance assessments will be available for grades 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 11. Local diagnostic tests will be available at the same grades as the…

A study examined national examinations in Britain and their effects on what and how students learn. A national questionnaire was completed by 695 teachers across grade levels and 702 of their students at the secondary level in both the United States and Great Britain. Observations were conducted in eight English/language arts classrooms in the two…

This paper presents preliminary, but statistically significant, findings from a study that compares two methods of measuring instructional effectiveness: global evaluation by experts and systematic observation using the SCRIBE Ob.2 software developed at the University of Texas at Austin. Hierarchical instruction of a performance skill…

Research has produced mixed results in evaluating whether people are influenced more by computer output than by other information. The present study examined how teachers' perceptions of psychological reports differ when the reports are identified as being produced by a computer program or by a school psychologist. Subjects were 40 experienced…