This study examined the generalizability of a self-report measure of psychache to an offender population. The factor structure, construct validity, and criterion validity of the Psychache Scale was assessed on 136 male prison inmates. The results showed the Psychache Scale has a single underlying factor structure and to be strongly associated with…

Two groups of middle school students were taught U.S. colonial history during a 5-week period using 2 different instructional strategies. In the experimental group, concepts and problem-solving strategies were explicitly taught; in the control group, content was presented using lectures and reading. All students took a pretest and several…

To examine the utility of a self-report scale of sexual assault trauma, 223 female victims were interviewed with the 43-item Sexual Assault Symptom Scale II (SASS II) at 1, 3, 7, 11, and 15 months postassault. Factor analyses using principal-components extraction with an oblimin rotation yielded 7 common factors with 31 items. The internal…

This article examines two programs chosen by the Early Head Start National Resource Center (EHSNRC) Pathways to Prevention (PTP) initiative to participate in a study of their mental health services. Both Wyoming's The Learning Center and Colorado's Developmental Opportunities found that working with the PTP mental health consultant catalyzed…

Although the percentage of overall AIDS diagnoses remains low among Asian and Pacific Islanders (APIs) in the United States compared with other racial/ethnic groups, research on API risk behaviors and health status suggest that the low number of AIDS cases may not provide a full picture of the epidemic and issues faced by this understudied and…

This article reports the validity and use of a new form of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES). As part of a larger study, a comparative student version (CLES-CS) was developed to evaluate the impact of an innovative teacher development program (based on the Integrated Science Learning Environment, ISLE, model) in school…

This article addresses an important problem that faces educators in assessing students' competence levels in learned tasks. Data from 165 students from Massachusetts and Minnesota in the United States are used to examine the validity of five assessment modes (multiple choice test, scenario, portfolio, self-assessment and supervisor rating) in…

The notion of language dominance is often defined in terms of proficiency. We distinguish dominance, as a property of the bilingual mind and a concept of language knowledge, from proficiency, as a concept of language use. We discuss ways in which language dominance may be assessed, with a focus on measures of mean length of utterance (MLU).…

This study describes the development of the Staff Implementation Observation Form, an instrument to assess staff competence delivering an intervention to youth in group home care with behavioral or emotional disorders. This instrument assesses staff skill at implementing the key treatment components, including building relationships with youth,…

The reliability and stability of Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS) scores were examined for the recreational and academic subscales and for the total scale. The responses of 718 students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades were included in the analyses. A seven-day interval between testings was used. The recreational and academic subscale…

Children's lead and pesticide exposures are used as examples to examine social disparities in exposure reduction efforts as well as environmental policies impacting children in poverty and minority children. The review also presents an estimate of the effect of social disparities in lead exposure on standardized test performance. Because including…

This article presents findings about the implementation of a system for rapidly assessing student progress in math and reading in grades K-12--a system that potentially could reduce pressure on teachers resulting from high-stakes testing and the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. Interviews with 49 teachers and administrators in one…

This article describes the consequences of dental disease among children under age 3. "Early childhood carries" (ECC) is preventable but is still a major public health problem--especially in poor and medically underserved communities--due to lack of awareness about prevention. The authors explain that in transdisciplinary care, practitioners work…

Students at the undergraduate level usually tend to view research methods courses negatively. However, an understanding of these attitudes is necessary to help instructors facilitate the learning of research for their students, by enabling them to create more positive attitudes toward such courses. The aim of this study is to describe the…

Early identification of problem readers and appropriate interventions would reduce subsequent failure and would enhance reading skills. Screening instruments measure the risk/probability that reading problems will occur. In this article we discuss certain aspects with regard to the most important indices of screening measures: predictive accuracy,…