Examines the viability of replacing the conventional placement testing in mathematics with a self-assessment strategy. Describes a study of 63 adult students who completed one of two self-assessment inventories and a mathematics placement test. Found that there is a positive relationship between information provided by students on the…

Discusses three studies involving the Adaptive Success Identity Plan (ASIP). Study 1 provides reliability and validity evidence. Study 2 indicates that programming efforts targeting family involvement, self-efficacy, and stress and time management should enhance college outcomes. Study 3 shows that participants were more likely to use success…

Study 1 examined construct validity of the Strong Interest Inventory and the Study of Values for 695 intellectually talented 13-year-olds. Study 2 consisted of a generalization probe to 695 graduate students. Analysis manifested an impressive degree of adolescence-to-adult cross-validation. Assessment and counseling with gifted students is…

Three standardized measures of child and adolescent behavior for ages 12-18 are studied: (1) Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist and Teacher Report Form; (2) Behavior Assessment System for Children; (3) Social Skills Rating System. Challenges to psychologists to include the experiences of girls in the knowledge-base grounding their practice and…

Comments on Reba Page's use of the author's work, known as the Brad trilogy, in a lesson on validity in interpretive research methods. Wolcott prefers involving students more immediately with field work than in Page's approach. Discusses his intentions in writing the Brad trilogy and the questions it has raised. (DSK)

Describes the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales, a standardized assessment for infants, toddlers and preschool children. It is designed to identify children at risk of developing a communication impairment and to establish a profile of functioning in the areas of communicative, social-affective, and symbolic abilities. (CR)

Argues that new "learning" paradigms are needed to assess new kinds of educational practices. Uses Instruction Model-Learning Model Questionnaire and the Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness to compare traditional vs. interactive teaching methods in a graduate (n=94) public policy analysis course; finds neither effectively measures…

Investigated the reliability and construct validity of scores on a Spanish version of an academic self-concept measure for economically disadvantaged Hispanic middle school, English as a Second Language students. Results did not completely support five hypothesized constructs corresponding to five factor subscales on the English version. Students…

A study found the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) Family-Centeredness Rating Scale was effective in evaluating 100 IFSPs from four different agencies. The highest rated items were identifying the family's role and writing in the active voice. More child-related goals were written compared to family-related goals. (Author/CR)

Discusses the provision of accommodations in admissions testing and in educational programs, the test score flagging practices that impact admissions testing, validity concerns, and issues surrounding fairness and compliance with federal disability laws for such practices. Some conclusions are drawn about the legality of the use of flagged test…

A published author's bad experiences with the writing portion of high stakes exams illustrate how such evaluations do not give everyone a fair shot at success. The author's test failures resulted from poor handwriting, inability to shorten the reflective thinking process, and unwillingness to communicate in a rigidly task-oriented form. Contains 6…

A study examined the reliability and validity of two curriculum-based measures (CBMs) as indicators of the performance of 58 7th-graders in a content-area classroom. CBM measures were student- and administrator-read vocabulary-matching probes. Results revealed moderate alternate-form reliability for both vocabulary-matching measures. Scores for…

Using research findings and statistics to support a policy argument often leads to misinterpretations and exaggerations of public school performance. Two experts illustrate this point by discussing examples of distorted high school drop-out rates, student performance on standardized tests, and international comparisons of U.S. and Japanese…

The construct of interpersonal forgiveness is operationalized and tested with 197 college students and 197 of their same-gender parents. The Enright Forgiveness Inventory correlates significantly and negatively with anxiety, particularly in relation to deep hurt in a developmentally relevant area. (JPS)

A study investigated the applicability of 2 American instruments for student evaluation of teaching for university students in China (n=367). Results indicated high internal consistency; items were generally considered to be appropriate and to distinguish clearly between good and poor lecturers. Every item was important to some students. However,…