A study compared the accuracy of experienced staff with a learning test in predicting the ability of 18 persons with mental retardation to learn 12 training tasks. Results found the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities test was more accurate for predicting client performance than the assessments of experienced staff. (Author/CR)

Examined deductive reasoning in 120 adolescents and relationship of parental style and test anxiety to reasoning performance. Found that tenth and twelfth graders demonstrated more advanced reasoning than sixth graders. Authoritative parenting was related to more advanced reasoning performance and lower test anxiety than nonauthoritative…

Trained fast- and slow-namer groups of poor-reading second graders to read words using different training regimes. Found that slow namers were particularly disadvantaged compared to fast namers when trained with word-level units. Children showed poorer retention following onset/rime training compared to other types. They showed the best…

A study involving 11 boys (ages 6-12) with high-functioning autism and 11 boys with moderate-functioning autism examined memory strategy use on a serial recall task and a recall readiness task. Significant spontaneous strategy use was found on both tasks, particularly among the high-functioning group, although still lower than typical controls.…

This article describes how to maximize clinician participation in outcome management systems: articulate the value of the outcomes management system, involve clinical staff in its design, make it relevant to treatment goals, assure clinicians it will not be used punitively, show how it will improve treatment, and obtain staff feedback. (Contains…

A study of six talented males in an urban high school found they had a strong belief in self that was influenced by the following factors: relationships with supportive adults; involvement in extracurricular activities, sports, special programs, and summer school experiences; and family support. (Contains extensive references.) (Author/CR)

Describes the Task-Technology Fit model that provided the conceptual basis for the assessment of the impacts on the end-users of the Integrated Information Center (IIC) at the University of Minnesota. A chart of the Technology-to-Performance Chain is included. (JAK)

Describes an ethnographic study of a selected group of faculty end-users; the purpose of this qualitative assessment was to triangulate on several phenomena under investigation to better understand the impacts of the Integrated Information Center (IIC) at the University of Minnesota on end-user work behaviors. (Author/JAK)

Addresses the problems of managing capacity and provisioning the demand for continued growth in data services. Discusses the need for blending high-performance technologies for interoperability and reliability; delivering higher bandwidth at lower cost; and allowing for increased customer control in networking. (AEF)

Three test administration procedures for making placement decisions in adult education were compared (paper-based, computer-based, and computerized-adaptive tests) with 90 adult-education students. Test performance was not differentially affected by the mode of administration, but the computerized adaptive test always yielded more precise ability…

Examines recent research on the variability of educational performance in the United Kingdom, discussing differences in educational attainment. Some of the social processes behind the statistics are explored, and the possibilities for improvement at the school level are considered in the context of national educational reforms that prioritize…

Middle school and high school algebra students (n=2,369) taught in a manner consistent with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards took three standardized algebra assessments. Middle school students seemed to benefit from the approach, and high school students were neither hindered nor helped. (SLD)

Individual differences in confidence judgments made by subjects on the accuracy of their answers to psychological test items were studied with 271 Australian college students. Findings suggest that confidence ratings, like the accuracy scores from the tests of human abilities, are stable and reliable measures of between-subjects variability. (SLD)

A study involving 25 students (grades 3-5) with and without attentional deficits assessed generality to a standardized reading test when noninformational color was added to one of two alternate forms. Students with attentional deficits read as accurately as their classmates with color added and read worse in the black-white condition. (Contains…

A study involving two vocational-technical high schools, four high schools, and an alternative program for middle and high school students, investigated factors affecting implementation and sustainability of self-determination activities within the schools. The importance of engaging general educators in dialogue about the self-determination…