Analysis of spontaneous language samples of 10 children (ages 8-9) with specific language impairments found that interviews were a reliable, valid, and efficient assessment context, eliciting the same profile of behaviors as a freeplay context without altering diagnostic classifications. (Author/JDD)

Existing federal government policies and systems to protect against scientific misconduct in government-supported research projects are described, and additional considerations not covered in federal policy are enumerated. Misconduct inquiries and review procedures are outlined. Applicant and institutional responsibility and the role of prevention…

Presents a general framework for designing sampling programs that ensure cost effectiveness, and managed errors kept within known and acceptable limits. (LZ)

Cohen and Hyman's response contains several misunderstandings of the original article by Mehrens and Kaminski. One frequently wishes to make inferences to a domain from a test, but teaching a specific performance and testing for that performance does not allow for a domain inference. (SLD)

The construct validity of hypothesized survey items and data reduction procedures for selected psychosocial constructs frequently used in breast cancer screening research were investigated in telephone interviews with randomly selected samples of 1,184 and 903 women and a sample of 169 Hispanic clinic clients. Validity of the constructs is…

This article discusses strategies for sampling communication and symbolic abilities in young children who are not yet talking or who are at early language stages, placing emphasis on caregiver involvement. The paper points out that profiling a young child's communication and symbolic abilities can contribute to the early identification of language…

To determine the accuracy of simulated data sets, an investigation was conducted of the effects of item sampling plans in the application of multiple matrix sampling using both simulated and empirical data sets. Although results were similar, empirical data results were more precise. (SLD)

Re-analyzes data from Florida public schools and offers a different perspective and alternative explanation for the pattern of test score improvements among low scoring schools in Florida. Shows that the most dramatic improvements were achieved by targeting a minimum passing score on the writing test. (SLD)

Five criteria are proposed for evaluating performance in research studies: the directness of sampling, the responsiveness of the target, the reliability of the observers, the frequent assessment of the target during the intervention period, and the critical nature of the target. A case study illustrates effectiveness of the criteria. (Author/CR)

Olfactory recognition memory was tested in adult male mice using a social discrimination task. The testing was conducted to begin to characterize the role of protein synthesis and the specific brain regions associated with activity in this task. Long-term olfactory recognition memory was blocked when the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin was…

This paper addresses the question: How does implementation influence the effectiveness of mandatory welfare-to-work programs? Data from three large-scale, multi-site random assignment experiments were pooled; quantitative measures of program implementation were constructed; and multilevel statistical modeling was used to examine the relationship…

Teachers are held accountable for their students' success, yet they generally do not control the curricular decision-making process that affects students' performance. This study sought to ascertain K-12 public school teachers' concerns about five factors that impact curriculum, supervision and instruction: Administration; Collaboration; Work…

Over a period of 10 years, we have developed a sustainable process of online portfolio assessment that demonstrates both reliability and validity, using both qualitative and quantitative measures. The sustainable cycle is that, each semester, we assess a random sampling of the students' work that they have posted, as per our instructions, in an…

The Maryland Gun Violence Act, enacted into law in 1996, explicitly authorized courts to order batterers to surrender their firearms through civil protective orders. It also vested law enforcement with the explicit authority to remove guns when responding to a domestic violence complaint. In order to assess how these laws were implemented, we…

Approximately 30% of children in foster care have severe emotional, behavioral, or developmental problems. A systematic research synthesis of empirical studies was conducted in an attempt to identify and classify therapeutic interventions for foster children. Utilizing a treatment protocol classification system, empirical studies were classified…