Suggests that ELLA (English Language and Literacy Assessment ) implemented in New South Wales, Australia, fails four tests for sound diagnostic assessment set out in a standard reference (K.W. Howell et al. "Curriculum Based Evaluation")--tests for logicality, reliability, validity, and accuracy and practicality. (RS)

Claims that arguments about the invalidity, purposelessness, and misleading nature of ELLA (English Language and Literacy Assessment ) implemented in New South Wales, Australia, remain intact despite attempts to counter the arguments. Presents a detailed critique of arguments presented in an article in the previous of this journal supporting ELLA.…

Describes the rationale and development of a new screening test, Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning-3 (DIAL-3), which is based on previous editions. Empirical research is presented to document item additions and deletions as well as the continued maintenance of three performance areas: motor, concepts, and language. (Author/CR)

The reliability and validity of a revised version of the Reading History Questionnaire was examined using 84 adults from an ongoing study of familial dyslexia and the parents of 107 children from a longitudinal study of reading development. The results indicated that the questionnaire (appended to the article) is both reliable and valid. (Contains…

Highlights three longitudinal studies examining the hypothesis that attachment security during infancy influences individual differences and adult representations of attachment. Notes that attachment security was significantly stable in two studies, with discontinuity in all three studies related to negative life events and circumstances.…

Assessed attachment security in 60 white middle-class infants at 12 months and conducted Adult Attachment Interview 20 years later. Found that 72 percent of infants received same attachment classification in early adulthood. Forty-four percent of infants whose mothers reported negative life events changed attachment classifications by adulthood,…

Examined relations between infant security of attachment, negative life events, and adolescent attachment classification in sample from the Family Lifestyles Project. Found that stability of attachment classification was 77 percent. Infant attachment classification predicted adolescent attachment classification. Found no differences between…

Maintains that the preceding studies extend a long line of research demonstrating the coherence of individual development in attachment security. Notes that the studies clarify that attachment security can be stable from infancy through early adulthood and that changes in security are meaningfully related to changes in the family environment.…

The Sibling Interaction Scale (SIS), an observational tool, was employed to investigate the interactions between 52 siblings (ages 1-20) with and without disabilities. Differences between nondisabled/disabled sibling pairs were found in the complexity of their sentences, the interpretation of the behaviors, and the roles they engaged in.…

A study of 1,000 children examined the effectiveness of the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTSPC) in measuring parental psychological and physical maltreatment of children, as well as nonviolent modes of discipline. The CTSPC was found to be better suited to measuring child maltreatment than the original Conflict Tactics Scales. (Author/CR)

Data from 196 Irish school children were analyzed and used to develop a shortened version of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales (E. Fennema and J. Sherman, 1976). Internal consistency estimates of the reliability of scores on the whole scale and each of the subscales of the original and short form were favorable. (SLD)

Describes a new instrument to predict dropouts, the Student At-Risk Identification Scale (SARIS). The SARIS consists of two subscales, one from student records and one that is a self-report. Scale construction is described, and narrative data are presented, along with evidence of reliability and validity. Predictive and diagnostic values of the…

To determine the role that physical aspects of corporate adventure training played in the acquisition of trust, 75 employees from a New Zealand computer company were assigned to one of two groups with varying levels of physical activity or to a control group. Trust was enhanced in the two experimental groups but more so in the more active group.…

Examined quality of children's relationships over time. Found that 9-year-olds' perceptions of teacher-student relationships were associated with teachers' ratings and were predicted by the quality of relationships with first teachers. Perceptions of mother-child relationships were consistent with earlier attachment security. Perceptions of…

Demonstrates how Rasch models can be used to study differences in item salience within and across time points, and that even if a test does not fulfill assumptions of the Rasch model, it can be used to obtain information on item functioning across participants and over time. Illustrates method using longitudinal data from Baltimore Prevention…