The purpose of this study was to determine what behaviors would be accepted by cooperating teachers in the public schools as indications of success in sixteen broad areas of teaching competence. In order to determine the behaviors most appropriate for judging effectiveness, a modified Delphi survey involving two contacts with the survey population…

The ecobehavioral approach to assessment of instructional outcomes is based on observational methods and behavioral research design. A practical observational system for use in examining the percentage of time in which a student uses various tasks and materials during a specific instructional activity is described and illustrated in detail.…

This article describes the development of the Child Rating Scale (CRS), a socioemotional self-rating scale for elementary school children. Four CRS factors (rule compliance/acting-out, anxiety/withdrawal, interpersonal social skills, and self-confidence) were found consistently across four independent samples totalling more than 2,000 elementary…

An initial exploration of the validity of 15 scales designed to assess adaptive ego processes in adolescence is presented. Diabetic youngsters, psychiatric patients, and high school students with no illness are compared using the scales. Correlations are found between the scales and a separate, conceptually related measure of ego development.…

The "Inventario de Comportamiento Escolar" is a teacher rating inventory for the assessment of Puerto Rican children, particularly those with a behavior pattern indicative of attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities, or academic underachievement. (JHZ)

School psychologists have experienced difficulties in assessing students' behavior disorders, because of lack of training and problems associated with the traditional medical model of abnormal behavior. An alternative assessment model is described in terms of its five principles: problem solving; functional analysis; multiple operationalism;…

Examines differences between 45 learning disabled, mentally retarded, and Title I elementary students on intelligence, academic achievement, and behavior measures. Indicates that such students perform similarly on academic achievement and behavior measures. Learning disabled and Title I students were similar on an intelligence measure; mentally…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that investigated the consistencies and the differences revealed among teachers and school counselors when using the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS) to rate the strengths of children at three separate school levels: elementary, middle, and high school. The sample included 60 children (ages…

This manual describes the rationale, use, and validity of the Temperament and Atypical Behavior Scale (TABS), a norm-referenced measure of dysfunctional behavior appropriately used with infants and young children between the ages of 11 and 71 months. TABS is intended to identify children who are developing atypically or are at risk for atypical…

The amount and type of peer interaction occuring in four racially mixed eighth grade classrooms were explored. Analysis of the interactions suggested that cross-race interactions of all groups were more task-related than within-race interactions. In turn, within-race interactions were more social than cross-race interactions. (Author/PN)

Evidence for the construct validity of Washington University's Sentence Completion Test of Ego Development is reviewed. The test has adequate validity for research purposes but is neither valid nor reliable enough to be used as a clinical instrument without further confirming data. (BH)

Seven success patterns and five nonsuccess patterns are identified as prevalent types of undergraduate performance. Students showed significant differences in demographic characteristics, admission credentials, college performance, and post-college plans. Results indicated that colleges should offer many subenvironments, each emphasizing and…

This study determined if mildly mentally retarded secondary school students could respond to a verbally presented multiple-choice test of social and personal knowledge. Teacher ratings were also obtained. Results supported the use of two- and three-alternative multiple choice tests. (Author/JKS)

Differences in social behavior of middle-class kindergartners with and without previous day care experience were compared through classroom observations and teacher ratings during the second semester of kindergarten. (BB)

Presents answers from a teacher, a curriculum developer, and the educational literature to the question "How is hands-on learning evaluated?" Describes different approaches to performance-based assessments including performance tasks, observational checklists, and portfolios. (PR)