This report describes a study that explored procedures for identifying high ability children from disadvantaged socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. The study constituted the initial phase of the 1980 Priority Exceptional Students' Study, conducted by the Education Department of Western Australia. Focusing on primary school children in the Perth…

This paper addresses the potential influence of current and projected microcomputer technological advances on the profession of school psychology. An overview of the uses and abuses of computers in school psychology is presented, followed by a brief discussion of three general uses of computers in school psychology: the computer as tool, tutor,…

This curriculum guide for the human sciences or social studies is intended for use in grades 1-7 in the early French immersion program. The program is organized around key concepts, generalizations, and themes derived from the social sciences, and allows the teacher a wide choice of content. The guide presents the following topics: (1) the…

In order to explore the possibility of basing the Ontario Library Association's (OLA's) professional development programming on systematic needs assessment, a pilot project was undertaken to determine the professional development needs of library workers in Ontario and to experiment with the Nominal Group Technique (NGT)--a means of providing for…

The competencies, item specifications, and sample items for the reading measures devised for the Wisconsin Competency-Based Testing Program are provided in this booklet. Following lists of reading competencies to be tested for grades three, seven, and ten, the booklet presents guidelines used in preparing the tests and test items; general item…

The Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT) instrument has been widely used to gather cross-cultural data regarding the acquisition of logical thinking skills in adolescent children. This study of West German adolescents using the instrument adds further comparative data regarding the development of logical thinking skills. Additional data…

A method is proposed for the detection of item bias with respect to observed or unobserved subgroups. The method uses quasi-loglinear models for the incomplete subgroup x test score x item 1 x ... x item k contingency table. If the subgroup membership is unknown, the models are the incomplete-latent-class models of S. J. Haberman (1979). The…

This report reviews the accomplishments of a literacy tutoring program--"Independence Through Literacy"--which was funded in its first year by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Title VI Library Literacy. This program had as its objective to demonstrate that literacy should be included among the basic skills that are…

The use of loglinear latent class models to detect item bias was studied. Purposes of the study were to: (1) develop procedures for use in assessing item bias when the grouping variable with respect to which bias occurs is not observed; (2) develop bias detection procedures that relate to a conceptually different assessed trait--a categorical…

This survey reflects new developments in the mathematics curriculum as emphasized in the curriculum frameworks and state-adopted textbooks. The first section describes the procedure for the development of the survey and the rationale for the topics and types of questions included on the mathematics portion of the test. The second section describes…

Because of consistent faculty involvement from its earliest stages, the writing assessment program at the University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) represents a competent, fair, and useful procedure for the large-scale testing and evaluation of student writing. UMKC's assessment curriculum builds on the existing sequence of three composition…

The results of the program of credit by examination at the University of Texas at Austin during the 1986-1987 testing year are presented. The data provide a basis for a comprehensive picture of the impact of the program on this campus. The examinations covered 51 subject areas with 171 courses taught in 36 departments/divisions in 8 colleges and…

In fall 1988, a study was conducted to determine the major issues and problems facing the presidents and chancellors of Texas community/junior colleges, to identify solutions being implemented to address these problems/issues, to identify new curricula and administrative programs, and to assess research activities and needs. Questionnaires were…

Drug abuse in schools, and to a lesser extent, alcohol and tobacco abuse, are the topics of this report. Discussions are provided in these areas: (1) prevalence of drug abuse; (2) student attitudes and beliefs; (3) drug laws and school rules; (4) student searches and drug testing; (5) drug epidemic reaching the very young; (6) tobacco abuse; (7)…

Negative affectivity (NA) has been defined as a stable and pervasive individual difference characterized by a disposition to experience aversive emotional states (D. Watson and L. A. Clark, 1984). A brief self-report scale was developed to assess NA. The initial 28-item scale (which included seven items each representing nervousness/calmness,…