Describes and discusses metanalysis and criticisms of the methodology. Reports on a pilot study which tested the feasibility of metanalytic methods in library science research using the literature on paper- or computer-based information retrieval. (28 references) (EA)

Presents data from validation study of American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency (OPI). Distinctness of OPI ratings from scores generated by Test of English as a Foreign Language and one other examination is assessed on basis of comparisons among 70 sets of scores from students of English as Second Language who…

Refines the cohort survival method for projecting student enrollment. Tests its effectiveness with 30 Maine school districts. The refinement empirically searches for optimal values of number of years of history to use in averaging, weights to place on the ratios, and linear versus exponential distribution of weights across ratios. (SLD)

Families (n=725) with young children with disabilities completed the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), and their scores were compared with the PSI's normative sample. No differences were found between samples on parent-related stress, supporting the normality or family strengths perspective. A normative table of PSI scores for families with children…

The predictive power of the short-form Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale of P. Satz and S. Mogel to provide equivalent information about IQ scores and age-corrected scale scores was not differentially affected by the side of the lesion for 63 patients with brain tumors. (SLD)

Factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis of the Educators Survey, an inventory to assess teacher burnout, for scores from 133 beginning elementary and secondary school teachers support a 3-factor structure. The level of construct validity of the instrument is considered promising for assessing teacher burnout. (SLD)

This article describes the Course Experience Questionnaire, a student evaluation of teaching performance. The article discusses the instrument's theoretical basis, statistical qualities, and national trials in Australian higher education. The questionnaire is seen to offer a reliable, verifiable, and useful means of evaluating teaching quality in…

Standardized tests in speech and language may be culturally biased for use with rural children. Recommends (1) training school personnel for cultural awareness; (2) purchasing culture-free tests; (3) developing local norms and conducting item analyses on tests; (4) identifying bias and modifying testing procedures; (5) accepting dialectical…

"Convergent validity" of preliminary Spanish version of Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory was studied. CAP uses ecological-systemic model of child maltreatment to evaluate individual, family, and social factors facilitating physical child abuse. Depression and marital adjustment were measured in three groups of mothers. Results found…

This discussion of ecological approaches to special education suggests that the relative neglect of the ecological approach is partially a result of the apparent incompatibility between ecological theory and conventional scientific approaches. It is suggested that ecological theory and positivism may be reconciled by broadening and developing…

Twenty students and 45 adults with visual impairments or blindness were administered a test of tactile concentration and short-term memory involving the reproduction of the order of finger stimulation using the Finger Knocking Box. Reliability and validity scores indicated encouraging results with use of the instrument. (JDD)

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)

This study examined the criterion-related validity of oral reading fluency (ORF), number of words read correctly per minute, with 64 regular, remedial, and special education elementary-level students. Comparison with two miscue-based assessment measures did not support modification of traditional ORF but did suggest practical value of selected…

The reasons college and university administrators dislike institutional rankings and ratings of academic quality published in the popular press are examined, and college attributes commonly used in the ratings are discussed. Virtues and flaws of the assessments are noted, and variations in the evaluations over time are illustrated in charts. (MSE)

A framework is provided for examining the validity of performance standards for high-stakes achievement tests. Assumptions that need to be evaluated are that the passing score corresponds to specified performance standards and that the specified standard is reasonable given the purpose of the decision. (SLD)