The examination of doctoral theses controls an important academic threshold, yet practices are often private, codes non-specific, and individuals isolated. This article adds to recent investigation of the examination culture by reporting informal panel discussion amongst a total of 23 University of Auckland (New Zealand) faculty members as to…

Turner syndrome (TS) is a relatively common neurogenetic disorder characterized by complete or partial monosomy-X in a phenotypic female. TS is associated with a cognitive profile that typically includes intact intellectual function and verbal abilities with relative weaknesses in visual-spatial, executive, and social cognitive domains. In this…

The influence of general and verbal ability on each of 72 verbal analogy test items were investigated with new factor analytical techniques. The analogy items together with the Computerized Swedish Enlistment Battery (CAT-SEB) were given randomly to two samples of 18-year-old male conscripts (n = 8566 and n = 5289). Thirty-two of the 72 items had…

This study explored the relationship between verbal fluency skills and writing skills in developing writers. There were three research questions addressed: (1) Was there a difference between fifth-grade students who have a learning disability (LD) in written language and fifth-grade students with typical development (TD) on the Delis-Kaplan…

Doctoral education in the United States had been scrutinized because of high-attrition rates reported as an average of 50 percent. Emerging from Lovitts (2001), this research examined students' attendance at Mock Orals (MO) and its relationship to their academic and social integration, cognitive maps, goals, rates of attrition, and retention in a…

Recently this journal published a research article examining the effectiveness of three different tests in identifying ethnically diverse gifted and talented children (Lewis, DeCamp-Fritson, Ramage, McFarland, & Archwamety, 2007, Volume 15, Number 1, pp. 38-42). After examining the proportions of Caucasian and non-Caucasian children identified…

This study introduces an approach for modeling multidimensional response data with construct-relevant group and domain factors. The item level parameter estimation process is extended to incorporate the refined effects of test dimension and group factors. Differences in item performances over groups are evaluated, distinguishing two levels of…

The Tactual Profile assesses tactual functioning of children with severe visual impairments between 0 and 16 years of age. The Tactual Profile consists of 430 items, measuring tactile skills required for performing everyday tasks at home and in school. Items are graded according to age level and divided into three domains: tactual sensory, tactual…

Critics of moral judgment measures question whether the obtained pattern of relationships between moral judgment scores and outcome variables might be better explained by verbal/general ability. To address this concern, we assess the degree to which moral judgment development reduces to verbal ability using the Defining Issues Test (DIT). Our…

Contracting out public schools to private institutions is an instrument for reforming public education as it may facilitate academic innovation and improve student academic performance through higher school accountability and autonomy. The degree of autonomy that different providers have may vary substantially depending on the contractual and…

When a test is adapted from a source language (SL) into a target language (TL), the two forms are usually not psychometrically equivalent. If linking between test forms is necessary, those items that have had their psychometric characteristics altered by the translation (differential item functioning [DIF] items) should be eliminated from the…

The forms that comprise the Territorial Decentration Test are provided. These forms are: Directions Form (Verbal Territorial Identification--Subtest A; Verbal Territorial Relationship--Subtest B; Territorial Inclusion Using Written Symbols--Subtest C; and Territorial Inclusion Using Props--Subtest D); Response and Score Form…

A 36-ITEM SENTENCE-COMPLETION FORM REQUIRING SINGLE WORD RESPONSES WAS ADMINISTERED TO 2,321 COLLEGE FRESHMEN TO OBTAIN NORMATIVE DATA. THE 616 DIFFERENT RESPONSE WORDS USED BY MORE THAN ONE PERCENT OF THE SAMPLE WERE INCORPORATED INTO A COMPUTER PROGRAM WRITTEN FOR A MODIFIED IBM 1401 COMPUTER WITH TYPEWRITER TERMINALS DESIGNED FOR…

This intervention compared the effects of two procedures on the generalization of a tacting repertoire (labeling) in 6 children with autism spectrum disorder. In one procedure the verbal antecedent stimulus "What is she doing?" appeared together with a person performing an action; in the other procedure, the antecedent stimulus was just the…