The purpose of this study was to examine the average treatment effect of preschool special education services on children's kindergarten academic skills. Using data from a nationally representative sample of United States children who participated in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Birth Cohort, we examined the effectiveness of preschool…

A measurement scale has been developed to assess secondary students' energy literacy--a citizenship understanding of energy that includes cognitive as well as affective and behavioral items. Instrument development procedures followed psychometric principles from educational and social psychology research. Initial exploration of the measure yielded…

The study assesses the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Norwegian Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale--NTSES. Multiple group confirmatory factor analysis was used to explore the measurement invariance of the scale across two countries. Analyses performed on Italian and Norwegian samples confirmed a six-factor structure of the scale…

Past empirical research relying on self-determination theory (SDT) has consistently shown that parental support of basic psychological needs (BPN) is associated with adolescent happiness. Yet, the specific mechanisms accounting for this link are still undetermined. The present study aimed to address this gap in the literature by testing a…

The Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Second Edition (WASI-II; Wechsler, 2011), published by Pearson, is a newly updated abbreviated measure of cognitive intelligence designed for individuals 6 to 90 years of age. Primarily used in clinical, psychoeducational, and research settings, the WASI-II was developed to quickly and accurately…

In this commentary, we examine Braverman's insights into the trade-offs between feasibility and rigor in evaluation measures and reject his assessment of the trade-off as a zero-sum game. We, argue that feasibility and policy salience are, like reliability and validity, intrinsic to the definition of a good measure. To reduce the tension between…

The 21-item Intuitive Eating Scale (IES; Tylka, 2006) measures individuals' tendency to follow their physical hunger and satiety cues when determining when, what, and how much to eat. While its scores have demonstrated reliability and validity with college women, the IES-2 was developed to improve upon the original version. Specifically, we added…

Objective: Unlike rating scales that focus on the severity of ADHD symptoms, the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD-Symptoms and Normal-Behaviors (SWAN) rating scale is phrased in neutral or positive terms for carers to compare the index child's behaviors with that of their peers. This study explores its psychometric properties when applied to…

The Self-Efficacy Parent-Report Scale was designed to assess parent perceptions of self-efficacy of their children aged 7 to 17 years. Internal aspects of validity indicated a marginal fit of the data to the unidimensional model. External facets of validity indicated the Self-Efficacy Parent-Report Scale had excellent convergent and discriminant…

Nearly one-half of doctoral students will never finish their program of study. This statistic is alarming. There is a need for an additional method to assess applicants, aside from prior academic success, in order to best identify those that will not only perform well in courses, but also have the psychosocial skills to persist to degree…

"To prepare our children for the world of tomorrow, we must enhance the learning environments of today" ("Partnership for 21st Century Skills," 2009, p. 24). In the first decade of the 21st Century, a common set of skills necessary for postsecondary success has emerged which includes creativity, critical thinking, problem…

Job dissatisfaction in American public school teachers is at its lowest in 20 years. Workplace stress is a primary factor associated with job dissatisfaction, and teachers are exposed to a range of potential stressors including student problem behavior, difficult interpersonal interactions, and job insecurity. Research has shown significant and…

Access to Head Start has been shown to improve children's preschool experiences and school readiness on selected factors through the end of 1st grade. Two more years of follow-up, through the end of 3rd grade, can now be examined to determine whether these effects continue into the middle elementary grades. The statistical design and impact…

The Internet has changed not only how we conceptualize knowledge, but also how we learn in classroom. Knowledge is not any longer transmitted from experts to non-experts, but is constructed through communication, collaboration, and integration among a network of people. In this context, teachers are expected to facilitate student-centered learning…

As a result of growing attention in cross-cultural research, existing measurement instruments developed in one language are being translated and adapted for use in other languages and cultural contexts. Producing invariant measurement instruments that assess educational and psychological constructs provide a way of testing the cross-cultural…