The development and validation of a new instrument, the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory, for assessing student perceptions of psychosocial environment in science laboratory classrooms are described. Results with 3,727 high school students and 1,720 college students at 53 sites in 6 countries support the scale's validity. (SLD)

Describes the source instrument, the database, and the experimental methodology that have been used in developing the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) profiles to allow the comparison of quality of life findings from a variety of cultural settings. Illustrates the precautions necessary in interpreting scores from different…

This study examined the effectiveness of the Coaching Analysis Instrument (CAI), which collects data and provides feedback on coaches' verbal behaviors as they organize and instruct athletes during practices. Practice sessions were videotaped and analyzed. CAI results helped modify the coaches' behaviors in positive ways. (SM)

Reveals significant correlation between older Maltese students and high test scores on their examinations to enter junior high. Older students are those born in the early months of the year. Study found little difference in scores between genders, although girls were more likely to pass the examination than boys. (MJP)

Discusses construction of the Hebrew Communicative Development Inventory (HCDI), an adaptation of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (MCDI). The HCDI was administered to a stratified sample of Israeli mothers of 253 toddlers. Results are presented and compared with scores from the MCDI. Results indicate that conclusions concerning…

In a context where changes in conceptions or experiences associated with learning generic skills is a desirable learning outcome, how can assessment instruments be designed to bring about the desired changes? In this paper we show how understanding the variation in students' experience of learning a specific generic capability represents the first…

To help teachers develop a repertoire of instructional strategies that will effect positive changes on students' learning outcomes is essential for both general education and the field of gifted education. This article introduces readers to a classroom observation tool that is designed to help assess professional development needs of teachers of…

The last century was marked by dazzling changes in many areas, such as technology and communications. Predictions into the second century of testing are seemingly difficult in such a context. Yet, looking back to the turn of the last century, Kirkpatrick (1900), in his American Psychological Association presidential address, presented fundamental…

This article explores how teachers, students, and other stakeholders collaboratively develop classroom-based assessment procedures for the evaluation of oral skills. By considering crucial issues in assessment such as validity, teacher-learner collaboration, and contextual factors, the authors provide a checklist that will help ESL/EFL teachers…

In this article, the authors aim to present and discuss competing accountability approaches, or models, designed to systematically indicate how a school's students are performing academically. Within the framework of the current federally mandated accountability legislation, increased interest in models measuring school performance has caused…

Teaching and assessment of student learning are not unrelated activities. Rather, assessment is an integral part of the learning process. Teaching is how instructors help students to discover knowledge and new ideas and ways of organizing and perceiving what they have learned. Assessment of learning incorporates the broad array of techniques that…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) assumes that state-mandated tests provide useful information to school administrators and teachers. However, interviews with administrators and teachers suggest that Minnesota's tests, which are representative of the current generation of state-mandated tests, fail to provide useful information to administrators…

Over a two-year period, the teachers at John Adams Middle School wrote and administered eight common assessments across content areas and met to discuss the results of each. By linking standards, assessments, and instruction, teachers were able to identify areas of need for specific students and address those needs. Educators across the country…

The present study sought to add to our knowledge about forces that negatively affect an individual's decision to start a business by identifying barriers they encounter. By identifying barriers to starting a business, we stand to learn much about how an individual identifies, confronts, and responds to decisions which may seem to be beyond their…

SIETTE is a web-based adaptive testing system. It implements Computerized Adaptive Tests. These tests are tailor-made, theory-based tests, where questions shown to students, finalization of the test, and student knowledge estimation is accomplished adaptively. To construct these tests, SIETTE has an authoring environment comprising a suite of…