The development of the National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia (NLLIA) rating scales (bandscales) for English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) proficiency in school-age children is described, focusing on issues arising in the process. The origins of the larger ESL Development Project, of which the bandscales project was a part, are…

This report describes the early development, recent revision, and some uses of a special Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) database for studying talent flow between undergraduate and graduate school. It discusses the following: (1) development and expansion of a talent flow database containing all variables from the GRE General Test files on all…

This study describes the development of the Attitude Toward Grades (ATG) survey instrument, a brief internally consistent measure of college student attitude toward grades and reports on selected behavioral correlates of that attitude. An initial item pool of approximately 50 attitude statements was created and the Thurstone equal appearing…

The Raggio Evaluation of Attention Deficit Disorder (READD) is an objective measure for the diagnosis and management of attention deficit disorder (ADD) in children. Extensive research has been conducted on its clinical and psychometric properties, as described in Chapter 3, "Development and Standardization." The READD is a microcomputer…

In statistical terms, transfer rates require two components: a numerator that represents community college students who transfer and a denominator that approximates the pool of potential transfer students. The California Task Force adopted a set of criteria to judge the appropriateness of prospective pairs of numerators and denominators. Its form…

A study was undertaken to obtain direct empirical evidence for the validity and usefulness of English as a second language (ESL) placement of a shortened version of the Secondary Level English Proficiency (SLEP) Test being used in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) and locally developed and scored writing tests. The LACCD provided…

This study used data from 992 cases in 16 longitudinal studies of the Early Intervention Research Institute to evaluate five measures of family functioning: (1) Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale-III; (2) Family Support Scale; (3) Family Resources Scale; (4) Parenting Stress Index; and (5) Family Inventory of Life Events.…

This study examined the accuracy of predictions of college grades in English, mathematics, social studies, and natural science courses, and the accuracy of predictions of overall freshman grade point average (GPA) based on American College Testing Program (ACT) assessment test scores and on high school course work and grade information from the…

A longitudinal study called The Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development examined the relationships between the kinds of talk that children experience at home and school at ages 3 and 4 and measures of literate abilities at age 5. Subjects, 87 children in 2 cohorts of 42 and 45 children from low-income families living in the Boston,…

Results of the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) Student Observation Scale (SOS), a measure of classroom behavior, were correlated with results of the BASC Teacher Rating Scale (TRS). Two classroom observations were made of each of 30 students (21 males and 9 females) aged 5 to 11 years. Teachers of those students completed the TRS.…

In an attempt to determine the subscale structures most useful for identifying adolescents with social skill deficits, this study investigated the factor structure of the Teenage Inventory of Social Skills (TISS) and its relationship to two measures of adolescent social competence. Two measures were completed by 1,142 ninth-grade students (577…

For many people, school reform means taking the responsibility for goal setting away from teachers and assessing common student accomplishments, but the costs and benefits of this accountability strategy have not been determined. The difference between the aims of education represented by test scores, and those represented by the activities of the…

This Research in Brief describes the scientific methodologies used to perform a review of crime prevention programs and then discusses what research has shown to work, what it has shown not to work, and what approaches seem promising for crime prevention. The first step was to identify and review reports evaluating the effectiveness of crime…

Data from the Spring 1996 administration of the New Standards Mathematics Reference Examination for Middle Grades were used to examine the instructional validity of the Reference Examination, opportunity to learn, and equity in the context of the California Mathematics Renaissance program. Student (n=1,936) and teacher (n=105) responses to the…

Students' attitudes and preparation practices regarding standardized tests were studied with students from one elementary school and two middle schools in Atlanta (Georgia). There were 111 fifth graders (35 African American and 76 European American) and 274 eighth graders (204 African American and 70 European American). Students completed a survey…