Investigated the developmental aspects of the Koppitz scoring system with 652 children who took the Bender Motor Gestalt Test. Scores were fitted to various developmental curves by computer. Results indicated only 35 percent of the Bender test performance variance was accounted for by age. (JAC)

Analyzes the implicit requirements for achieving reliable results from holistic ratings of writing samples and argues that these conditions bring the validity of the ratings into doubt. (HOD)

Lack of awareness of the concept-scale interaction problem frequently causes misuse of the semantic differential technique by educational researchers. Evidence is presented to demonstrate the interaction, and a simple method of mitigating the problem is suggested. (Author/AV)

Using step-wise multiple regression analyses, regression equations were generated for sixty school age subjects with choice and stage of moral reasoning on moral dilemmas as the dependent variables. The implications of the findings for further research and curriculum were discussed. (Editor/RK)

Criticizes, on the basis of experience, a proposal in this journal 1/1975 to make uniform the grading system for work on English texts at Secondary Grade II. It is insufficiently individualized, too schematic and too demanding. A response to this is provided. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

The validity of the degree system in higher education is examined, and reasons for the system are probed with the help of an imaginary interlocutor. Contradictory values are shown to be inherent in the spirit of inquiry and the pursuit of knowledge, and the spirit of competition and pursuit of success. The role of grading is addressed. (LBH)

This report provides an update to the technical analysis procedures documenting the 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) as presented in "The NAEP 1996 Technical Report" (Allen, Carlson, and Zelenak, 1999). It describes how the 1999 long-term trend data were incorporated into the trend analyses. Since no national main…

In an effort designed to guide and improve the assessment of a newly developed writing environment, the reliability and developmental and concurrent validity of a previously validated rubric developed for pen-and-paper-created narratives, Writing What You Read (WWYR), was determined when applied to hypermedia-authored narratives of children in…

Over the past six semesters, researchers developed a project-based learning experience for an introductory Educational Psychology course. Each semester, one or two aspects of the project were varied. In the most recent semester, 44 students in 2 sections of the course worked on the project in groups. In both sections, students were provided with a…

This Digest defines student engagement and describes various methods used to measure it, both in empirical research studies and at the classroom level. Student engagement has been defined in various ways, but it is evident that students who are engaged show sustained behavioral involvement in learning activities accompanied by a positive emotional…

Experimenter bias effects were experimentally manipulated in a sample of 97 school psychologists scoring 3 subscales (Similarity, Vocabulary, and Comprehension) of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III). First year (n=29), interns (n=42), and experienced (n=26) psychologists were randomly assigned to either a bias or…

The authors provide a reference on how to set standards on tests in education, licensure, and certification. This book is comprehensive in scope, practical in nature, and definitive in terms of cataloguing the essential conceptual and procedural fundamentals of setting performance standards. It: (1) Offers a detailed description of procedures; (2)…

This paper illustrates a method to study rater severity across exam administrations. A multi-facet Rasch model defined the ratings as being dominated by four facets: examinee ability, rater severity, project difficulty, and task difficulty. Ten years of data from administrations of a histotechnology performance assessment were pooled and analyzed…

This guide in English and Spanish is designed to answer questions parents may have about the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), including how it will help improve their children's education, how it is scored, and how to use the information it provides. In Washington, clear educational goals for subject content, thinking skills, and…

Learning outcomes and their assessment has given rise to considerable debate as to whether outcomes should be graded or just pass/fail. Assessment models employing learning outcomes have been used for some time in the United Kingdom (UK) in further education programs for example National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and General National…