A total of 125 white children from three counties in Georgia (selected as representative of small rural and medium and large industrial urban populations) were administered a battery of tests in three phases of their schooling: (1) during the summer preceding their admission to the first grade, (2) near the end of the first grade, and (3) near the…

A model of conceptual learning and development that provides a framework for studying the course of cognitive development throughout the school years and also studying the learning concepts across short time intervals is discussed in this paper. The theory includes five main propositions. First, children learn four successively higher levels of…

The purposes of this study were (1) to identify the social-emotional and information-achievement characteristics of 133 children enrolled in Head Start and (2) to explore the interrelationships found to exist between social-emotional behavior, as assessed by the teacher at the outset of the program, and the gains exhibited over the year in…

Emanuel M. Berger's scale for testing the expressed acceptance of others is based on statements describing behavior, particularly verbal communicative behavior, of others, in a study of 561 subjects, Berger's scale evidenced need of modification in explaining small group interaction and especially the differing attitudinal responses of males' and…

To explore the potential relationships among general attitude toward school, evaluative ratings of courses and instructors, and selected respondent characteristics, an attitude inventory, and, for each class, a course and instructor rating scale, with items which emphasized the nature of student-teacher interaction and level of course difficulty,…

Describes a new 48-item self-report instrument, the Multidimensional Measure of Children's Perceptions of Control, which defines children's perceptions of control as understanding the locus of sufficient cause for success and failure. Three dimensions of third- through ninth-grade children's perceptions of control are assessed within three…

This document, a companion to the "LAS Guide Principles and Criteria for the Adoption of Local Assessment Systems," [ED484135] presents results that are intended to provide Maine's school administrative units with an option for selecting sample performance indicators to be assessed through the Local Assessment System to meet the…

The factorial validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the equivalence of factorial measurements and structure across groups were studied for 163 intermediate-grade teachers, 162 secondary school teachers, and 218 university teachers in Canada. Reasons why the MBI may not be appropriate for university educators are discussed. (SLD)

New academic self-concept measures were used to assess self-concepts for 234 boys in grades 5 and 6 (13 subjects) and 524 boys in grades 7 through 10 (16 subjects) at a Catholic boys school in Sydney (Australia) and to test the Marsh/Shavelson model. Academic self-concept is remarkably subject specific. (SLD)

A hypothetical construct of interest is proposed and tested in the mathematics classroom with 350 high school students. Results indicate that it is useful to distinguish between personal and situational interest. In addition, the structure of situational interest appears multifaceted, with five subfacets found in the high school mathematics…

"VIEW: An Assessment of Problem Solving Style" (Selby, Treffinger, & Isaksen, 2002) is a new instrument for assessing problem-solving style, for use with individuals from ages 12 through adult. It measures three dimensions of style relating to creative problem solving and change management. In this article, we discuss the…

The Standardized Letter of Recommendation (SLR), a 28-item form, was created by ETS to supplement the qualitative rating of graduate school applicants' nonacademic qualities with a quantitative approach. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the following psychometric properties of the SLR using the Rasch rating-scale model: dimensionality,…

The Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales (E. Fennema and J. A. Sherman, 1976) are among the most popular measures used in studies of attitudes toward mathematics. However, the measurement integrity of the scores has not yet been established conclusively. Measurement integrity was explored by using data from 174 elementary school teachers…

The construction and validation of a tutor evaluation questionnaire are described. The importance of the tutor in problem-based learning requires assessment of staff conducting this role. After a pilot study in 1990-91 with 100 students and 150 tutors who identified important tutor skills, a questionnaire was prepared. This questionnaire was…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1991) has identified the use of computers as a necessary teaching tool for enhancing mathematical discourse in schools. One possible vehicle of technological change in mathematics classrooms is the Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS), an artificially intelligent computer-based tutor. This paper…