When low-stakes assessments are administered to examinees, the degree to which examinees give their best effort is often unclear, complicating the validity and interpretation of the resulting test scores. This study introduces a new method for measuring examinee test-taking effort on computer-based test items based on item response time. This…

Beyond some contracted minimum, salaried workers' hours are largely chosen at the worker's discretion and should respond to the strength of contract incentives. Accordingly, we consider the response of teacher hours to accountability and school choice laws introduced in U.S. public schools over the past two decades. Total weekly hours of full-time…

This study examined the relationship between library anxiety and social interdependence. Participants were 115 graduate students from various disciplines who were administered the Library Anxiety Scale (LAS) and the Social Interdependence Scale (SIS). The LAS assesses levels of library anxiety. This instrument has the following five subscales:…

The purpose of the current study was to look at whether a child's activity level was correlated with the level of stress a mother experiences. Parents can describe their children as having distinct and recognizable patterns of behavior as young as in infancy (Paaren, Hewitt, Lemery, Bihun & Goldsmith, 2000). Even at birth, some children are much…

This study investigated the extent of relationships between the motivation-related independent variables of absences and academic self-concept and the dependent variable of academic achievement. A correlational research design was used to measure the extent of association between the study's variables. Participants were 34 11th graders (17 African…

The dispositional motivation of individuals to engage in information processing was studied through an instrument, the Need for Closure Scale (NFCS) (A. Kruglanski and others, 1996), developed to measure differences in the need for structure and closure. One goal of the two studies reported was to address criticisms related to the dimensionality…

This survey, monitoring levels of substance abuse in the United States, serves as a tool for researchers and policymakers to better understand and control substance abuse problems. It provides information on 25,500 participants' use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco among the civilian, noninstutionalized population. Trends for the years,…

This study investigated the effects of block scheduling on student learning. It compared the grade-point averages (GPAs) of one group of students during their 9th-grade year while under the traditional 7-period day to the GPAs of their 10th-grade year under the 4-by-4 block schedule. The text offers a history of block scheduling and lists some of…

Does student aid increase college attendance or simply subsidize costs for infra-marginal students? Settling the question empirically is a challenge, because aid is correlated with many characteristics that influence educational investment decisions. A shift in financial aid policy that affects some youth but not others can provide an identifying…

It may be popularly held that thematic progression patterns have little to do with translation. This paper issues a strong call for the reconsideration of the potential applications of thematic progression patterns in the process of analysing a text with special regard to translation. This paper can be conceived of as a comprehensive reply to this…

157 Science teachers from 39 schools in Scotland completed a 44-item questionnaire on their perceptions of effective science teaching. (Editor)

The experiment in this paper attempts to demonstrate that people's errors in recall or distortions of their initial positions are such as to allow them to perceive consistency in their attitudes over time. (Author/RK)

This paper seeks to extend our knowledge of ability grouping through the reanalysis of two sets of survey data, the Plowden survey (Peaker, 1967) and the NFER streaming survey (Barker Lunn, 1970). (Editor)

A sixty-four-item parent-report Games Inventory was constructed to measure play patterns in normal and gender-deviant boys. (Editor)

This paper (a) describes the rationale and development of the Stephens-Delys Reinforcement Contingency Interview method for assessing locus of control expectancies in children as young as preschool age and (b) summarizes results of subsequent studies bearing on reliability, validity, and problems of the method. (Author/RK)