The Mental Capacity Act 2005 for England and Wales received Royal assent in April 2005 and came into force in 2007 (Department of Constitutional Affairs, 2007). The Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides a statutory framework to empower and protect vulnerable people who are not able to make their own decisions. The adherence to it is a statutory…

Research in music education asserts that video review by performers facilitates self-directed learning and transforms performing. Yet, certain videos may be traumatic for musicians to view; those who perceive themselves as failing or experience performance-related failures are prone to feelings of distress and sadness that can negatively affect…

In education theory, Bloom's taxonomy is a well-known paradigm to describe domains of learning and levels of competency. In this article I propose a calculus capstone project that is meant to utilize the sixth and arguably the highest level in the cognitive domain, according to Bloom et al.: evaluation. Although one may assume that mathematics is…

We present an example analysis and corresponding information graphics of data from a cognitive ability assessment as a means to illustrate the use of a Rasch measurement approach and advantages inherent in such an approach for a wide variety of teaching and learning investigations. The importance of placing measurements of student performances and…

Computer-adaptive classification tests focus on classifying respondents in different proficiency groups (e.g., for pass/fail decisions). To date, adaptive classification testing has been dominated by research on dichotomous response formats and classifications in two groups. This article extends this line of research to polytomous classification…

Background: The purpose of this study is to describe feasibility and test-retest reliability of the six-minute walking distance test (6MWD) and an adapted shuttle run test (aSRT) in persons with severe intellectual and sensory (multiple) disabilities. Materials and Methods: Forty-seven persons with severe multiple disabilities, with Gross Motor…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulty generalizing learned behavior to varied environments with independence. This review of 24 empirical studies compares self-management as a systematic procedure for modifying one's own behavior, to increase target behaviors in students with either autistic disorder (AD) or…

Self-regulated learning has been described as an adaptive process: students adapt their learning strategies for attaining different learning goals. In order to be adaptive, students must have a clear notion of what the task requirements consist of. Both trace data and questionnaire data indicate that students adapt study strategies in limited ways…

Purpose: This article provides both a tutorial and a clinical example of how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can conduct evidence-based practice (EBP) when working with children with speech sound disorders (SSDs). It is a companion paper to the narrative review of 134 intervention studies for children who have an SSD (Baker & McLeod, 2011).…

Objective: The objective of this study was to test the factor structure of the "Nurturant Fathering Scale" (NFS) among an African American sample in the mid-Atlantic region that have neither Caribbean heritage nor immigration experiences but who do have diverse family structures (N = 212). Method: A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted…

Many universities rely on data gathered from tests that are low stakes for examinees but high stakes for the various programs being assessed. Given the lack of consequences associated with many collegiate assessments, the construct-irrelevant variance introduced by unmotivated students is potentially a serious threat to the validity of the…

Compared to traditional test theory, where person measures are typically referenced to the distribution of a population, item response theory allows for a much more meaningful interpretation of measures as they can be directly compared to item locations. However, Stephen Humphry shows that the crucial role of the unit of measurement has been…

The International Baccalaureate[R] (IB) world, known as "the IB World," is doubling in size every five years. The IB has become a complex educational product, but offers high levels of consistency and reliability in terms of delivery and assessment. However, since late 2008, a number of concerns have been raised about the quality and manageability…

Purpose: Given age-related health restrictions, the importance of the environment for life satisfaction may increase in later life. This study investigated whether objective and perceived physical and social environmental aspects of the home and of the surrounding neighborhood represent resources for or risks to life satisfaction among young-old…

In contrast to typical National Science Foundation program evaluations, the Utah State Math Science Partnership-Research, Evaluation and Technical Assistance Project (MSP-RETA) provided technical assistance (TA) in two forms: direct TA for up to 10 projects a year, and professional development sessions for a larger number of project staff. Not…