To improve the accuracy of the informal reading inventory (IRI), a differential set of criteria is necessary for both word recognition and comprehension scores for different levels and reading conditions. In initial evaluation, word recognition scores should reflect only errors of insertions, omissions, mispronunciations, substitiutions, unkown…

As part of a desegregation plan in Detroit, teachers in recently desegregated schools were involved in an in-service program designed to provide for equal instructional opportunity. One hundred fifty-eight elementary teachers, 99 middle school teachers, and 49 high school teachers in 306 classrooms participated in the program. Teacher -student…

This paper discusses the problems of gathering and analyzing data on classroom behaviors. The difficulties involved in using the common pretest-posttest experimental design are described. To grapple with these problems, a study was conducted on the effect of environmental changes on student behavior, employing a time-series design and time-series…

The computer-assisted teacher training system (CATTS) has been developed to provide a versatile technical system for the real-time collection, feedback, and analysis of observation-coding system data applied to the investigation of interactive behaviors and environments found in teacher behavior research in reading. CATTS technical innovations…

Schooling is always a moral practice. It takes place in specific contexts where social regulation is justified by reference to ethical codes and their specific values. Teachers' work is constituted by these values. Teachers act morally, steering practice in particular directions. The task is, however, never simple. In a context where the…

This paper provides information on the use of referential communication tasks (tasks that structure speaking and listening behaviors so that participants need to interact to achieve accurate comprehension) in evaluating students' comprehension and listening skills. An introduction discusses interactive listening and the referential communication…

This volume, third in a series of seven reporting the design, methodology, and findings of the 4-year National Day Care Home Study (NDCHS) presents descriptive and statistical analyses of data obtained during observations of caregivers and children in family day care homes in three geographical locations (Los Angeles, San Antonio, and…

The Executive Summary of the National Day Care Home Study (NDCHS) provides a synopsis of the findings from all NDCHS components including data on family day care providers, the children in their care, and the children's parents. The summary additionally presents information on the nature of the day care in each of the NDCHS settings and presents…

To validate a proposed statistical index of instructional effectiveness, researchers identified 33 school characteristics related to instructional effectiveness and tested the relationship between these characteristics and the proposed index. The index includes two subject area indices, mathematics and reading, and is based on statistical…

Instruments used to rate college teachers should undergo the scientific scrutiny expected of any psychological instrument. The construction of rating instruments through collective bargaining without scientific pilot testing thwarts the desired goal of assisting faculty and administrators in learning about teaching performance. These contentions…

One problem in the assessment of personality characteristics is the lack of predictive power of scales across time and situations with respect to overt behavior. Items from two scales of the Edwards Personality Inventory (Articulate and Center of Attention) considered suitable for behavioral assessment, were found to have a relatively high rate of…

Videotapes of eight high school classes were analyzed to determine patterns in the reading activities, materials, and instruction in secondary content area classes. The analysis included a summary of the language arts involved, the duration of specific instructional segments and their percentage of the total class time, and apparent patterns in…

Classroom behaviors from the Texas Junior High School Study were related to achievement using both class means and student scores within classes as the units of analysis. Behaviors significantly related to achievement at the class level of analysis were not related to achievement within the class and vice versa. There was no clear pattern of…

Noting that while laboratory investigations of recordings of children's spontaneous verbal creations or repetitions of traditional forms in their natural play habitats have indicated that they do engage in systematic explorations of language structures in their play, this paper points out that there have been no investigations of whether such…

Data from 8 of the 13 instruments used to provide answers to the decision and evaluation questions for evaluation of the 1980-81 ESEA Title I regular program in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District comprise Volume II of the final technical report. A separate appendix for each instrument includes a description of its purpose, procedure,…