The accuracy of the Brigance K&1 Screen in the early identification of Head Start children with possible cognitive/academic giftedness was explored with 134 children, 13 of whom were identified as potentially gifted on the K-ABC. These potentially gifted children also performed significantly better on the Brigance than did other children.…

A study involving 105 sixth-graders examined three aspects of technical adequacy with respect to two general outcome measures in mathematics: the effects of aggregating scores and correcting for random guessing on reliability and validity and the extent to which the measures were sensitive to changes in performance. (Contains references.)…

This article provides an overview of strength-based assessment of children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders and discusses the development and psychometric characteristics of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS). The BERS is a norm-referenced, standardized test that assesses the strengths of children and…

Comparison of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Third Edition) and the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) with 78 special education students found that the WISC-III identified more children, especially more black children, as having mental retardation. Results imply that the problem of disproportionate identification of black children…

Examined factor structure of the emotional Autonomy Scale (EAS) in 3 samples of adolescents, with each sample consisting of 3 racial/ethnic groups. Found that the EAS exhibited poor construct validity and behaved quite differently for different grade and ethnic groups. Suggested that the most credible solution may be to reexamine the conceptual…

This study examined the construct validity of the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 (TSC-40) in a sample of 130 female psychiatric inpatients. The TSC-40 displayed criterion-related validity in relation to childhood sexual abuse. Survivors of sexual abuse obtained significantly higher scores than those without such a history on the overall TSC-40 and on…

Comparison of scores of 35 third- and fourth-grade students with learning disabilities on 3 major achievement tests found high positive correlations among the reading subtests. Agreement across all 3 tests for learning disability eligibility in the basic reading skills area was found in 20 of 35 cases and 9 of 35 cases in reading comprehension.…

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), initially developed for undergraduate medical education, has been adapted for assessment of clinical skills in podiatry students. A 12-month pilot study found the test had relatively low levels of reliability, high construct and criterion validity, and good stability of performance over time.…

The Child Behavior Rating Form (CBRF) was adapted for use with children having mental retardation and was named the Nisonger CBRF. Independent factor analyses of parent and teacher ratings for 369 children produced 2 Social Competence subscales and 6 Problem Behavior subscales. Internal consistency was generally high and parent-teacher agreement…

The structure of temperament over the ages 3 to 7 years was investigated through factor analysis of maternal ratings of 1,366 children on the Childhood Temperament Questionnaire (CTQ). Found four strong factors (inflexibility, sociability, persistence, and rhythmicity) and two weak ones (activity-mood and threshold). Discusses the strengths and…

Sixty 10- to 12-year-old Irish girls completed questionnaires that assessed depression and self-perception and a newly developed scale that assessed peer victimization. Girls were also asked to identify themselves or their classmates as being the victims of bullying. The 12 girls who said they were bullied scored higher on the peer victimization…

Details a study evaluating the construct and concurrent validity of a modified version of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS), a teacher-rating instrument of interactive play behaviors of preschool children. Use and further study of developmentally appropriate social competencies for African-American Head Start children are discussed.…

This study provides data on norming and performance standards on the Stanford Achievement Test, 9th Edition, for both hearing and deaf students. It graphically analyzes these data in the context of interpreting individual test scores, examining achievement of groups of students, and specifically, interpreting test scores of high achieving deaf and…

Children's Social Behavior Questionnaire (CCBQ) scores from 240 children with pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS), 95 with high-functioning autism, 181 with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, 400 with psychiatric problems, and 234 controls, indicated significant group differences on all scales and good test…

A study examined the technical adequacy of curriculum-based measurement for assessing growth in 43 second-graders whose reading performance was measured monthly over the school year with the maze task. Results showed that the maze task had good alternate-form reliability, sensitively reflected improvement of student performance, and revealed…