Multidimensional analysis involves moving away from one-dimensional analyses such as most articulation tests to comprehensive analyses involving levels of phonological information from the word level down to segments. This article outlines one such approach that looks at four levels from words to segments, using nine phonological measures. It also…

As they attempt to make the transition to standards-based grading, many schools go off track or get swamped by side issues, writes Brookhart. They waste energy having hard discussions about grading practice details that, by themselves, cannot accomplish real reform. Instead, schools should focus discussion on major questions: What meaning do we…

In an effort to cure the ills of current grading and reporting systems, many schools and districts across the United States have attempted to implement a standards-based system. The authors recommend four best practices in this area: (1) Get rid of the omnibus grade, which tells teachers little about the content measured or the difficulty level of…

U.S. teachers grade homework far more than teachers in other countries, yet at least one study shows a negative correlation between grading homework and student achievement. More important, Vatterott notes, grading homework sends students unhelpful signals about the purpose and value of homework. By focusing on the grade, students view homework…

Response to Intervention (RTI) models of reading instruction have received much attention in the literature (Fuchs, Mock, Morgan, & Young, 2003; Hosp & Ardoin, 2008; Justice, 2006). Such models call for frequent and high-quality assessment of students' skills. One skill that is vital in the process of learning to read is the ability to…

Sensitivity analysis is the study of how the different input variations of a mathematical model influence the variability of its output. In this paper, we review the principle of global and local sensitivity analyses of a complex black-box system. A simulated case of application is given at the end of this paper to compare both approaches.…

Measuring a teacher's effectiveness in quantifiable ways is a logical step in a society driven by the SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely objectives) that pervade modern management. The idea of using student performance on standardized tests to judge a teacher's effectiveness picked up steam after the Obama…

Distance education permeates the field of professional and continuing education to such an extent that quality assurance (QA) is a topic no distance educator or administrator should avoid. Quality assurance is an issue not just for continuing education but also for higher education generally. Given the disruptive impact of distance education and…

Determining the candidate teachers' opinions regarding self-efficacy towards alternative assessment will be beneficial in that this will improve their competencies while using these approaches in their applications within the classroom. In this article, the development and validation of the "Self-efficacy towards Using Alternative Assessment…

Six pigeons responded in a visual category learning task in which the stimuli were dimensionally separable Gabor patches that varied in frequency and orientation. We compared performance in two conditions which varied in terms of whether accurate performance required that responding be controlled jointly by frequency and orientation, or…

This study tested the efficacy of a new social skills intervention, "S ocial S kills GR oup IN tervention-High Functioning Autism" ("S.S.GRIN-HFA"), designed to improve social behaviors in children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders. Fifty-five children were randomly assigned to "S.S.GRIN-HFA" treatment (n = 27) or control (i.e.,…

In this paper, sung speech is used as a methodological tool to explore temporal variability in the timing of word-internal consonants and vowels. It is hypothesized that temporal variability/stability becomes clearer under the varying rhythmical conditions induced by song. This is explored cross-linguistically in German--a language that exhibits a…

In this article, Moira Broadhead, Roy Chilton and Victoria Stephens offer an in-depth analysis of a targeted intervention, Scallywags, aimed at children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Scallywags, based in Cornwall, offers an early intervention package for children and their families based upon an initial Boxall Profile analysis.…

The first purpose of this study was to develop valid and reliable a scale which measure the transactional distance. Besides, the second purpose of the study was to investigate whether the transactional distance perception differed according to gender, utilized component and number of logins to system, and also blended learning was useful. The…

Preliminary evidence suggests that children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may exhibit handwriting difficulties. However, the exact nature of these difficulties and the extent to which they may relate to motor or behavioural difficulties remains unclear. The aim of this study was to describe handwriting capacity in children…