There is a pervasive need for school systems to empirically and reliably assess the data literacy and data use skills of their educators (Ingram et al., 2004). With the federal government holding states and school districts accountable for student achievement and the increased emphasis of high stakes testing in schools, it is also critical to be…

Parental involvement is seen as one of the most malleable factors of the student's home situation, which makes it a relevant subject for schools, educational policies, and research. Though many studies have researched its role in student achievement, effects are not univocal. It is difficult to tell whether these inconsistent results are caused by…

Two studies were conducted to examine and compare the construct validity of scores on the Junior Metacognition Awareness Inventory (JMAI) and problem-solving interview protocols. Participants consisted of 183 middle and high school students attending a university summer program for academically talented youth. Study 1 results indicated that JMAI…

Objective: The measurement of Family Feedback on Child Welfare Services (FF-CWS) is gaining prominence as an efficacy indicator and is coherent with concerns about family-centered practice and empowerment. The aim of this study was to develop and validate an instrument that would overcome the scarcity of psychometrically sound measures in this…

Objective: This study seeks to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Ottawa Self-Injury Inventory-Functions (OSI-F) for assessing nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), a condition for further study in the DSM-5. Participants: Participants included 345 students who indicated a history of self-injury in a university counseling center over six…

This study sought to validate the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S), an instrument that measures perseverance and passion for long-term goals, among Chinese high school students. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the scale retains the two-factor structure of the original scale. The scale demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency and…

Kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs) have increasingly been incorporated into state education policies over the past 5 years, with much of this interest stemming from Race to the Top--Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) awards, Enhanced Assessment Grants, and nationwide efforts to develop common K-12 state learning standards. Drawing on…

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a scale assessing students' moral thinking and communication (MTC) functioning as well as to explore the implications for moral development and education. The rationale of MTC functioning, including interaction of four independent competencies: moral awareness, moral judgement, moral discourse, and…

The Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children -- Fifth Edition (WISC-V) is a comprehensive intellectual ability assessment for children. The WISC-V was developed over the course of five years by an expert team including doctoral-level scientists and clinicians and an advisory panel, who provided expert advice about intellectual ability testing,…

Our UC Santa Barbara research team engages in ongoing efforts to enhance and validate the Social Emotional Health Surveys (Primary, Secondary, and Higher Education). The initiative to enhance the secondary version is supported by an Institute of Education Sciences grant (#R305A160157, 2016-2020), which provides funding to refine, standardize, and…

Background: As the popularity of classroom observations has increased, they have been implemented in many longitudinal studies with large probability samples. Given the complexity of longitudinal measurements, there is a need for tools to investigate both growth and the properties of the measurement scale. Methods: A practical IRT model with an…

An important component of a student's science literacy is scale and concepts relating to scale including proportion and quantity. Measuring a student's scale concept has been examined using laboratory studies with one-on-one activities and interviews. However, classwide assessments to measure a student's scale concept have been…

Purpose: This study investigated the development of spatial release from masking in children using closed-set Mandarin disyllabic words and monosyllabic words carrying lexical tones as test stimuli and speech spectrum-weighted noise as a masker. Method: Twenty-six children ages 4-9 years and 12 adults, all with normal hearing, participated in…

Up until now, social workers have depended on the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" ("DSM") as the primary diagnostic classification for mental disorders. However, the "DSM-5" revision includes scientifically unfounded, inadequately tested, and potentially dangerous diagnoses that may lead them…

Background: The purpose of this study is to provide an examination of the psychometric properties and correlates of a parent-report measure of the forms and functions of aggression. Objective: We sought to explore the potential independent association of parent-reported forms and functions of aggression to several important variables commonly…