This year's "Tennessee Higher Education Fact Book" consists of five sections and an appendix of additional resources and terminology. The five main sections of the report provide data on Student Participation, Student Success, Academic and Fiscal Trends, Quality Assurance Funding, and Outcomes-Based Funding. Each section begins with…

This article proposes a new item selection method, namely, the modified maximum global discrimination index (MMGDI) method, for cognitive diagnostic computerized adaptive testing (CD-CAT). The new method captures two aspects of the appeal of an item: (a) the amount of contribution it can make toward adequate coverage of every attribute and (b) the…

This study investigated the relations among executive functions and cognitive abilities through a joint exploratory factor analysis and joint confirmatory factor analysis of 25 test scores from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System and the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities. Participants were 100 children and adolescents…

The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it investigates the self-images of science teaching held by early childhood pre-service teachers who took constructivism early childhood science education courses. Second, it analyzes what aspects of those courses influenced these images. The participants were eight pre-service teachers who took these…

The majority of large-scale assessments develop various score scales that are either linear or nonlinear transformations of raw scores for better interpretations and uses of assessment results. The current formula for coefficient alpha (a; the commonly used reliability coefficient) only provides internal consistency reliability estimates of raw…

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the new Cognitive Spare Capacity Test (CSCT), which measures aspects of working memory capacity for heard speech in the audiovisual and auditory-only modalities of presentation. Method: In Experiment 1, 20 young adults with normal hearing performed the CSCT and an independent battery of…

In the present study we examined the relation between alphabet knowledge fluency (letter names and sounds) and letter writing automaticity, and unique relations of letter writing automaticity and semantic knowledge (i.e., vocabulary) to word reading and spelling over and above code-related skills such as phonological awareness and alphabet…

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the various neurocognitive processes concomitant to reading by attempting to identify various subtypes of reading disorders in a referred sample. Participants were 216 elementary school students in grades two through five who were given select subtests of the Woodcock Johnson-III Tests of…

This research examined the effectiveness of Multipurpose Unit Early Classroom Intervention Program (MUECIP) prepared for 4-5-year-old (48-60 months) children whose development is at risk because of their families' socioeconomic conditions. The research adopted a preliminary test-final test control group trial model. The research participants were…

The purpose of this study was to compare the cognitive processing profiles of school-age children (ages 7 to 17) who met criteria for underachievement in oral reading accuracy based on three different methods: 1) use of a regression-based IQ-achievement discrepancy only (REGonly), 2) use of a low-achievement cutoff only (LAonly), and 3) use of a…

Although specific cognitive abilities, cognitive style, and learning preferences are assumed to be inter-related, the empirical evidence supporting this assumption is mixed. Cognitive style refers to how individuals represent information, and learning preference refers to how individuals prefer the presentation of information (Mayer & Massa,…

Previous studies suggest that aging is associated with impairment of attention. However, it is not known whether this represents a global attentional deficit or relates to a specific attentional network. We used the attention network test to examine three groups of younger, middle-aged, and older participants with respect to the efficiency of…

"Exploring Arizona's Private Education Sector" is the seventh installment in our "School Survey Series." EdChoice Director of State Research and Policy Analysis Andrew Catt surveyed Arizona private school leaders about the state's educational choice programs, especially its Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, as well as their…

This study was conducted based on the limited availability of research comparing the KABC-II and WISC-IV. The study included 30 Caucasian students between the ages of 6 years, 7 months to 16 years 11 months who attend rural school districts in Ohio and West Virginia and were referred due to academic concerns; the sample consisted of 19 females and…

As the emphasis on accountability in education increases, so does the prevalence of low-stakes testing. It is essential to understand test-taking motivation in low-stakes contexts, as low motivation has implications for the validity of inferences made from test scores about examinee knowledge and ability. The current study expanded upon previous…