Issues concerning the selection of judges for standard setting are discussed. Determining the consistency of judges' recommendations, or their congruity with other expert recommendations, would help in selection. Enough judges must be chosen to allow estimation of recommendations by an entire population of judges. (SLD)

Thirty-six testwise and 41 test-naive high school seniors in British Columbia (Canada) were tested to determine their abilities to apply selected test wiseness principles according to a proposed model of test-taking behavior. To apply the testwiseness strategy, students first needed knowledge of the content tested and test item content. (SLD)

Study examined trends in the signing skills of parents of deaf children. Of 50 deaf individuals, 73 percent of deaf children (ages 4-18) reported their parents knew some sign language, whereas older individuals (ages 41-76) reported only 22 percent of their parents knew some sign language. Younger offspring rated their parents' signing skills…

College students with prelingual deafness were assessed on their knowledge of English syntax at the beginning and end of the academic year. Results revealed significant improvement on nine English structures assessed; students with lower general English proficiency improved to a greater extent than other students. (Author/JDD)

Kindergarten (n=30) and grade 1 (n=15) students of contrasting socioeconomic backgrounds were interviewed to assess their knowledge of number word sequences and spatial patterns and their ability to recognize numerals and use counting to establish numerosity of visible and screened collections. Findings indicate greater variation in abilities…

Profiles a few of the affinities between pragmatists and scientific realists, and indicates a few dramatic differences dividing these schools of thought. Pragmatic research is driven by anticipated consequences. Scientific realists hope to find the truth about what the world is really like. (SLD)

Changes in information retention resulting from changes in reliability and number of intervals in scale construction were studied to provide quantitative information to help in decisions about choosing intervals. Information retention reached a maximum when the number of intervals was about 8 or more and reliability was near 1.0. (SLD)

Examines the relationship between new biology teachers' subject matter knowledge and classroom discourse, contrasting classroom discourse during laboratory investigation with discourse during other classroom activities. Data analysis suggests that knowledge and control are related but in ways unique to the communicative context of the laboratory.…

Effects of printed factual information and three augmentative communication techniques on attitudes of nondisabled adults toward nonspeaking adults with physical disabilities were studied. Additional information about the nonspeaking individual and increasing sophistication of the augmentative communication techniques were both found to improve…

Investigates how 20 English primary teachers understand the concepts of force and gravity. Uses the interview about instances technique. Finds teachers' views of these concepts are not in accord with accepted scientific interpretations but similar to those of children's views. Discusses implications of the findings. (NL)

To study the knowledge that teachers use to understand and interpret teaching and learning, 28 respondents from 4 levels of teaching experience were asked to explain their understanding of videotaped classroom scenes. The increasing complexity of understanding with teacher experience is supported by the findings. (SLD)

Describes pedagogical content knowing (PCKg) based on a constructivist view of teaching and learning, emphasizing knowing and understanding as active processes. PCKg requires teachers to understand students' learning and the environmental context in which teaching and learning occur. The paper applies the model of PCKg to teacher education…

Information on friends at 9 and 13 years, individual and family characteristics at 13 years, and substance use at 15 years was provided by 110 adolescents and their mothers. Results suggest that agreement about the friendship network is a potentially important process for defining how adolescents and parents maintain connectedness. (SLD)

Presents the results of research on environmental education in Zimbabwe focusing on gender differences in knowledge, attitudes, problem-solving skills, and environmental activities. Of (n=555) secondary school students, girls generally had more environmental knowledge than boys. Attitudes toward environmental issues were mixed. Girls tended to be…

Examines problems that arise when society comes to rely on the technology of its time and provides support for this contention through data about unintended effects of polychlorinated biphenyl. Argues that reliance on technology results in a loss of previously accumulated knowledge, and the general public becomes convinced it can have anything…