Suggests a role for "authentic measurement" using performance measures in task-based approaches to assessment and describes the implementation of a task-based, performance-referenced test of English for academic purposes (EAP) developed to place English as a Second Language college students. Results suggest that skills-focused tests of EAP ability…

Presents a literature review seeking to answer four questions: (1) What is washback? (2) How does washback work? (3) How can we promote positive washback? and (4) How can we investigate washback? A model is proposed that identifies participants, processes and products which may influence or be influenced by, washback. Strategies for investigating…

In Canada's Exemplary Schools Project, a national committee designed and coordinated 21 case studies. A committee member recounts decisions made about design and method, and highlights differences between method and methodology, as well as variations in conceptualization of qualitative research. Discusses the meaning of "exemplary,"…

Behaviors of effective experienced teachers, including their cognitive processes, were studied through a two-round modified Delphi study that involved 51 Connecticut educators. Delphi results led to construction of two Likert-type questionnaires completed by 1,837 teachers. The importance of 70 teaching behaviors was ranked with good content…

The practice of cognitive referencing to determine the presence of a specific language impairment (SLI) and eligibility for services is questioned by a study which compared the variability of the IQ scores of children with specific language impairment over time. The study found high IQ variability, suggesting that IQs reflect current abilities…

Results from a translated and revalidated measure of moral judgment completed by 161 Belgian adolescents and young adults and from a measure of religious judgment completed by 142 subjects support the usefulness of a questionnaire to measure religious judgment and provide information about its relationship to moral judgment in young adults. (SLD)

Intelligence quotient profiles in 81 high-functioning children and adults with autism were examined. Profiles did not reveal the presumed typical pattern of a lower verbal IQ than performance IQ. Results found that individuals with autism demonstrated a wide range of ability levels and patterns on the Wechsler Intelligence Scales, without a single…

Addresses the multidimensional nature of cross-cultural research along with challenges of cross-cultural, comparative studies. Focuses on validity of constructs, appropriateness of measures, and suitability of methodologies. Discusses three studies accommodating the cross-cultural context and a study conducted in indigenous Australian communities…

Discusses platform unity, or aligning curriculum content with appropriate test types. Presents findings from a survey of 30 Virginia community college faculty, indicating that the faculty did not plan and test content congruently, tended to overtest content, and were effective but not efficient in test selection. (25 citations) (AJL)

Presents the author's perspective on the topic of educational intervention for students with learning disabilities through a discussion of using validated, curriculum-based measurement as a determinant of effective instruction. Also examines the optimal characteristics and ethics of intervention research and the dissemination and implementation of…

Discusses the need for empirical demonstration of intervention implementation during consultation. Provides suggestions for consultations to measure treatment integrity and acceptability of interventions for consultees. Presents case studies demonstrating innovative treatment approaches. Discusses the use of scripts written in the vernacular to…

Discusses the validity of a rating scale created by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages for the purpose of measuring the oral language proficiency of bilingual professionals who are speakers of English and Spanish. Notes that this scale measures various levels of competence and features of an individual's speech. (14…

Administered an ability scale to 53 children identified as having a learning disability approximately three years after each had been administered an intelligence scale. Results indicate that the ability scale correlated highly with the intelligence test. Differences in scores in specific measures were nonsignificant. Other findings are discussed.…

Proposes a dynamical systems approach to parsing in which syntactic hypotheses are associated with attractors in a metric space. The experiments discussed documented various contingent frequency effects that cut across traditional linguistic grains, each of which was predicted by the dynamical systems model. (47 references) (Author/CK)

Efficiency, precision, and concurrent validity of results from adaptive and fixed-item music listening tests were studied using: (1) 2,200 simulated examinees; (2) 204 live examinees; and (3) 172 live examinees. Results support the usefulness of adaptive tests for measuring skills that require aurally produced items. (SLD)