A study of self-report depressive symptoms measured by the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale was conducted in Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the United States with 953 college students. There are marked differences among countries in symptoms reported. Research designs and measurement strategies for cross-cultural research are discussed. (SLD)

Describes a study of Texas public elementary schools that was conducted to determine whether there were significant differences between professional and paraprofessional media specialists in personality traits, interaction patterns with school staff, and status as an indicator of their perceived expertise in instructional matters among classroom…

Forms and characteristics of small group physics instruction in the Russian university are examined and in some cases, compared to those used in Britain. Topics discussed include the lecture method, classroom communication during lectures, postlecture discussion, specialized small-audience lectures, problem solving, individual research projects,…

Reforms in American schools should concentrate on the development of higher-order skills and on assessments that support them. Reform should move beyond conventional tests that are of little use to students. Applications of cognitive psychology in the real world, including cognitive apprenticeships and interactive learning environments, are…

Reviews educational research on social class, gender, and ethnic bias. Argues that constructing assessment instruments is a complex task, involving social and political assumptions as well as technical expertise. Calls for additional research on the impact of assessment on self-esteem and other issues related to test bias. (CFR)

New academic self-concept measures were used to assess self-concepts for 234 boys in grades 5 and 6 (13 subjects) and 524 boys in grades 7 through 10 (16 subjects) at a Catholic boys school in Sydney (Australia) and to test the Marsh/Shavelson model. Academic self-concept is remarkably subject specific. (SLD)

A computerized method is described whereby a mirror image pair of drawings, simultaneously drawn by the right and the left hands, can be compared. This BASIC computer program, which is available from the authors, has applications to a variety of psychological studies. (Author/JJK)

The working memory hypothesis that the development of span in children is related to increasing proficiency in the use of an articulatory loop was tested in two studies with 120 Canadian children in grades 5 and 6 and 11 and 12. Some support was found for the hypothesis. (SLD)

This article discusses a widespread failure of schools to match reading instruction to children's needs, identifying large class sizes, dependence on basal reader programs and questionable testing practices as contributing factors. Basal materials are seen as contributing to standardized curricula and impeding efforts to shift teacher behavior…

The performance of 254 Israeli twelfth graders on multiple-choice tests with positive or negative item stems was studied. For items requiring low cognitive reasoning, performance does not differ, but, for items requiring high cognitive reasoning, the negative mode is more difficult. Implications for test construction are discussed. (SLD)

A hypothetical construct of interest is proposed and tested in the mathematics classroom with 350 high school students. Results indicate that it is useful to distinguish between personal and situational interest. In addition, the structure of situational interest appears multifaceted, with five subfacets found in the high school mathematics…

Relates the experience of a college professor who spent two months as a student teacher in an eighth-grade language arts classroom in an urban public school. Discusses middle school teaching verses college teaching, coming to know the students, discipline, student testing, accountability, teaching writing, the failure of teacher-training programs,…

This article describes the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, an assessment of intelligence for individuals ages 4 to 90. The test is designed for those circumstances in which a brief measure of intelligence will suffice and trained professionals may be unavailable for the assessments. Its administration, reliability, and validity are discussed.…

Suggests foreign students in Australia may not be getting preparation needed to integrate successfully into university study. Research is reviewed that indicates these students not only need help preparing for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) but also with learning at an Australian university. Academic preparation courses…

Examines differences in oral narrative discourse of adult second-language learners of English on narrative tasks simulating the ability to describe events in the Here-and-Now versus the There-and-Then. Results indicate that complex tasks elicit less fluent, but more accurate and complex narration than do simpler tasks. (90 references) (Author/CK)