Intended as a resource for test construction, this kit provides educators with sample test items, checklists, and questionnaires to assess literacy skills of adult students. Items are keyed to skills in the Adult Basic Literacy Curriculum and Resource Guide (APL Guide) and divided into these skill areas: interpersonal, listening, speaking,…

Two methods of teacher evaluation, summative evaluation and formative evaluation, are examined. The summative theory calls for an assessment of teaching competence on the basis of which judgments may be made on matters pertaining to promotion, tenure, merit salary increments, or dismissal. Summative evaluation is strongly supported because it…

An ethnographic study of kindergarten through grade two classrooms was conducted of various sociolinguistic contexts in which young students were developing oral and written language competencies. Nonparticipant observations were conducted in both regular classrooms and Chapter I small group classroom settings. The observations were analyzed from…

An observational study of classroom behavior was made to identify competencies and contexts of social interaction influencing the development of friendship among preschool children attending an integrated special education classroom. Subjects were six boys and four girls whose ages ranged from 3 to 6 years. Two of the children, a 4-year-old girl…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school-wide gender equity efforts and seventh grade girls' and boys' educational outcomes and psychological functioning. In this paper, we detail the components of the study, which included documenting that this school did in fact have a gender equitable environment; measuring…

This study of black families examined the degree of congruence between family structure, family interaction, and attitudinal constellations in the home and the utilization of selected health, educational and social service agencies. Data were collected from parents of 150 children attending the Howard University Child Development Center and from 4…

A case study of a New Zealand educator's 14-year efforts to apply reading theory to reading instruction is described in this paper. The project was begun in 1962 to find out if teachers could observe the process of learning to read going awry within a few months of the child's entry into school, and to seek ways of correcting that trend if…

Variables derived from two measures of classroom behavior, direct observation and teacher rating, were used in regression designs with measured intelligence to predict a measure of academic achievement of 69 kindergarten, first, and second grade children. Results suggest that measures of classroom behavior contribute variance to the prediction of…

A new teacher observation scale is described and teacher ratings are related to measures of self concept and attitude toward school. Different results are obtained when analysis employs change measures of these variables in comparison with status measures. The teaching dimensions of "cognitive demand" and "warmth" seem to be important variables…

An observational study described and compared verbal interaction in specific language and learning disability (SLD), educable mentally retarded (EMR), and trainable mentally retarded (TMR) secondary level classrooms. Trained observers used Flanders Interaction Analysis system to obtain data in 46 classes. Most teachers used a direct style with…

The TADPOLE (Tech Assessment and Development for the Preparation of Optimal Learning Environments) Research Project assessed areas of parental competence in setting up home learning environments for children from birth to three years of age. Six half-hour videotapes were made of each of 30 families in their homes. Two instruments, Parent…

This volume, the first in a series of seven reporting the design, methodology and findings of the 4-year National Day Care Home Study (NDCHS), the first national study of family day care, provides a synopsis of the study's findings. Volume One consists of 10 chapters. Chapter I provides background information and an overview of the NDCHS. Design…

This volume, second in a series of seven reporting the design, methodology, and findings of the 4-year National Day Care Home Study (NDCHS), provides a detailed description of the analysis conducted on data gathered through in-depth interviews with the 793 caregivers who participated in the NDCHS. Chapter I, the introduction, discusses the social…

Participant observation techniques were used to observe and analyze a system of "informal education" practiced in a state-supported middle school of 260 students in South Yorkshire, England. "Informal education" was the term used to designate the general nature of the educational methodology of the school. The study focused…

Strategy analysis systems (SAS) used to describe classroom instruction are characterized by three components: (1) observing classroom behavior; (2) coding behavior into categories; and (3) data reduction with translation into meaningful feedback. Unique learning environments (laboratories and inquiry teaching) have necessitated developing SAS…