Interrelates school and district data files from the National Center for Educational Statistics with county demographic files and county typologies from the Economic Research Service. Explores the usefulness of cross-tabulating rural versus urban status with metropolitan versus nonmetropolitan status as contextual categories for understanding the…

A connectionist model of argument strength that applies to categorical arguments involving natural categories and predicates about which subjects have few prior beliefs is proposed. This feature-based model was tested in argument strength rating studies with 34 undergraduates, and its validity is discussed. (SLD)

The comprehensive management of epilepsy in people with mental retardation requires consideration of four aspects of care: diagnosis and classification, anticonvulsant drug treatment, safety and protection from injury, and psychosocial functioning. This paper outlines what is known and unknown in these four areas and introduces articles in this…

Analysis of family and medical histories of 5 children (ages 11 to 16) with autism and hyperlexia and 5 sex-matched and IQ-matched children (ages 9 to 15) with autism but no hyperlexia suggested that children with autism and hyperlexia represent part of the continuum of autism rather than a specific syndrome. (Author/DB)

Normally achieving, learning-disabled and mildly retarded students (n=148, ages 6-9) were trained to select the odd picture of a 3-picture array. Mildly retarded subjects showed large, consistent performance differences from the other groups, but learning-disabled subjects could not effectively be distinguished from normally achieving peers.…

Three experiments tested 3-year-olds' subordinate classification. The first experiment found that novel noun presentation hindered classification. The second and third experiments found that provision of information for the purpose of distinguishing relevant subclasses, and introduction of novel nouns in conjunction with familiar basic level…

Reports the results of a content analysis of research in library and information science based on articles in international journals. The classification scheme used to classify article topics is explained, the distribution of research articles and professional articles is compared, data collection methods are discussed, and research strategies are…

Classification accuracies of models for predicting later high school dropouts from data available in student records for grades 4 through 8 were examined for 503 dropouts and 282 persisters (nondropouts) in Florida. Separate prediction models for each grade level have practical importance; implications for dropout prediction are discussed. (SLD)

A sample of 175 maltreated children (mean age 51.9 months), 39 children in mental health treatment, and 176 normative children was assessed for type and severity of maltreatment. Results showed that psychological maltreatment was present in almost all cases of physical maltreatment and was more related to detrimental child outcome than was…

A study analyzed relationships of 7 institutional characteristics and 5 fund-raising outcomes over 605 institutions in 10 types. Statistical analysis was used to describe how relationships of characteristics and outcomes vary by institution type and specific donor and to identify institutions with effective fund-raising programs based on…

A study involving elementary school students in three age groups examined two explanations for the finding that young children tend to classify objects according to similarity relations, whereas adults emphasize dimensional structure. Results countered the view that children perceive objects according to a more primitive holistic structure. (RH)

In response to Larry Silver (EC 231 774) concerning whether attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder is a learning disability via a related disorder, this article proposes an interactional perspective that stresses the educational needs of the child within his/her total environmental context. It also summarizes the current empirical and clinical…

This paper discusses studies of visual dyslexia, the nature of visual processes involved in word recognition, and the contribution of visual memory to word recognition. The paper concludes that, though defects in the physiological aspects of visual processing can lead to reading difficulties, evidence does not indicate the existence of visual…

This article presents an overview of literature relating to a nonverbal learning disabilities subtype. The article addresses the relationship between nonverbal learning disabilities and socioemotional functioning, generalizability of research outcomes, individual differences, and treatment validity. (Author/JDD)

Examination of the role of psychometrics in the development of multiple-choice tests and performance-based assessments and consideration of validity and reliability issues leads to this conclusion: Choice of assessments for instruction or large-scale accountability depends on which is more appropriate for the particular purposes. Taxonomic…