Research in the area of grade adjustment methods from the last 27 years is reviewed in the context of admissions selection and of prediction of student performance in college. Contemporary grade adjustment methods can often produce indexes of academic performance with greater reliability than that found with grade point average. (SLD)

The development and validation of a new instrument, the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory, for assessing student perceptions of psychosocial environment in science laboratory classrooms are described. Results with 3,727 high school students and 1,720 college students at 53 sites in 6 countries support the scale's validity. (SLD)

Examined relative roles of aggression and other dysregulated behaviors in predicting adolescent peer problems and antisocial behavior. Found that aggression and withdrawal were stable and linked to peer difficulties in elementary school and adolescence, but indicated significant risk for adolescent rejection, victimization, and antisocial activity…

Describes seven defining characteristics of "authentic" assessment and how they have been operationalized in an interactive multimedia learning environment in preservice teacher education. A study showed students responded favorably to the elements of authentic assessment and had a good understanding of the software's content; this was…

This article describes the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing, an assessment instrument designed to assess the phonological processing skills of individuals between the ages of 5 and 24.11 years and to identify those with phonological processing difficulties. Its administration, standardization, reliability, and validity are discussed.…

This article reviews the revised KeyMath Revised-Normative Update American and Canadian editions, and a draft version of the 1999 pending revision. The assessment instrument is intended to test basic mathematical concepts, operations, and applications of students in grades K-12. Its administration, standardization, reliability, and validity are…

As an alternative form of mathematics assessment for use with limited-English-proficient students, 14 mathematics tasks using manipulatives were administered to 45 Hispanic students in grades 1-3 and readministered 2-3 weeks later. Test reliability and validity, task difficulty, and the relationship among test subscales across grades were…

Discusses aspects of the Family Narrative Consortium's multisite, multidisciplinary collaboration to study the effect of social context on family narratives. Considers the value of the study for developing a coding system for narratives that yields comparable results across research sites. Examines the measures, epistemological issues,…

This article describes development and psychometric properties of the Community Living Attitudes Scale, Mental Retardation, a 40-item measure based on the input of self-advocates and focused on contemporary community living philosophies. Tested with 742 individuals, the measure's factor structure was confirmed, and subscales of Empowerment,…

Examined self-esteem among Puerto Rican young adolescents. Found that Self-Perception Profile for Children had adequate reliability for use with 13- to 14-year-old Puerto Ricans living on the mainland. Gender differences in different domains were similar to those among Anglo youth. Psychological acculturation played a more protective role for…

A pilot study examined the reliability and predictive validity of a screening instrument for Dutch kindergartners. Findings indicated acceptable reliability and predictive validity. Parents could accurately screen their child's language proficiency level, pre-arithmetic level, and degree of extraversion at school entry. Teachers could predict…

A study of methods used to ensure validity and reliability in classroom assessments surveyed 625 elementary and secondary teachers in Ohio. Results indicate teachers spent little time conducting statistical analyses of their student evaluation data, and many techniques used were poor and inadequate. Additional professional development and improved…

Examines recent implementation of the controversial Massachusetts Educator Certification Tests and the educational, legal, and public policy issues in the implementation of a teacher testing program. The paper focuses on: the contexts for teacher testing; the tests themselves; the quality of the tests; and legal issues in teacher testing and…

This article discusses the development of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory for American Sign Language (ASL-CDI), a parent report that measures early sign production. Normative data from 69 children (8-36 months) with deafness and their parents with deafness found the development of the ASL-CDI has been successful. (Contains…

Describes how instruction and exposure contributed to the development of oral proficiency in English as a Second Language in mutually exclusive learning situations in Nepal. This study finds that both instruction and exposure contribute to second-language acquisition, the former promoting accuracy, the latter promoting fluency. (Author/VWL)