Classroom climate has been found to predict a significant portion of the variance in student achievement, independent of student background and intelligence quotient scores. This study sought to more clearly define classroom climate by determining to what extent climate measures teacher characteristics, student characteristics, and classroom…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 16 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of rating errors on the speech rating process, (2) the efficiency and accuracy of informal assessment procedures in determining instructional…

The Pre-Professional Skills Tests (PPST), was developed at Educational Testing Service at the request of the National Teachers Examination Policy Council. The battery of three tests is designed to provide objective, standardized measures of basic proficiency in reading, mathematics, and writing. The steps in the test development process of this…

The development and refinement of the measures of student achievement in reading and mathematics for the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study are described. The concept of reactivity to instruction is introduced: the tests used to evaluate instructional processes must be sensitive indicators of classroom learning overtime. Data collection activities…

This normative study of the American Association on Mental Deficiency (AAMD) Adaptive Behavior Scale--Public School Version was based on 291 Texas public school children divided into 12 categories. The categories were: age, ethnic, or racial group (white or non-white), and assignment to regular classes or special education classes for the educable…

There are both strengths and weaknesses of using standardized test scores as a criterion for admission to institutions of higher education. The relative importance of scores is dependent on the institution's degree of selectivity. In general, decision processes and admissions criteria are not well defined. Advantages of test scores include: use of…

Research was conducted that initially focused on identifying and synthesizing the large number of previously identified vocational special needs teacher competencies into an educational model. The model contained a matrix that organized all these competencies into twelve domains of four performance phases each. The Competency Matrix was the…

The usefulness of the Preschool Preposition Test (PPT) as a cognitive screening and diagnostic tool for handicapped children is demonstrated through results of eight independent studies. The subjects were 354 children and youths, aged two to 20 years, with various handicaps: mentally retarded, autistic-like, moderately emotionally disturbed,…

A project undertaken to field test the Institutional Report Form (IRF), a tool designed to measure the potential for student consumer abuse in postsecondary educational institutions, is described. The IRF was designed by the American Institutes for Research for use by state licensing agencies, and the field test was intended as a federal technical…

The Alberta High School Social Studies Achievement Tests are described in terms of the procedures used for test construction and analysis of the norming data. The test construction is explained according to a model for the values clarification process in the social studies, and the evaluation models appropriate for assessing the values…

A five-point school subjects attitude scale, based on the semantic differential technique, was developed after two rounds of factor analysis; it contained 24 bipolar adjectives, each representing one of three factors: evaluation, usefulness, and difficulty. The scale was administered to Alberta (Canada) students in grades 5 and 8, who were…

The Educational Forces Inventory (EFI) charts the relative influence of 13 factors on teacher morale and classroom effectiveness. Ten general factors are: school principal; central office administrative personnel; other teachers in the school; parents; prescribed curriculum; testing programs; state legislation; physical facilities; community…

Faculty from fifteen colleges developed open-ended questions to assess group competence in four areas of learning associated with general education--communication skill, analytic thinking, synthesizing ability, and social/cultural awareness. A secondary purpose was to determine faculty expectations for learning in the general education component…

The development and validation of an instrument designed to measure the quantity of types of instruction delevered to individual students is described. The Classroom Activities Log (CAL) is a teacher-completed record of students' instructional experiences, and may be used to study educational equity questions posed by Elementary Secondary…

Student distribution among institutions of higher education corresponds more to the socioeconomic status of institutions than to the test-predicted performance levels. Aggregate data shows that the more costly institutions recruit wealthier students with higher test scores. Traditionally black institutions rely far less on test results, preferring…