Explores numerous procedures to evaluate a pupil's reading achievement. Discusses different evaluation methods including criterion-referenced tests; contextualism in reading; discussions in the reading curriculum; conferences with pupils; and using portfolios. Concludes that the best objectives, learning opportunities, appraisal procedures, and an…

Presents a case for using benefit-cost analysis to structure evaluations of child-abuse prevention and intervention programs. Presents the basic concept of benefit-cost analysis, its application in the context of assessing these types of child welfare programs, and limitations on its application to social service programs. (Author)

Compared the final exam performance of two classes of accounting students based on the method of course assessment used; one class received formative assessment with feedback prior to the final exam, while the previous class did not. Findings seemed to suggest that changing assessment to a formative mode can improve students' performance. (EV)

Articles in this special issue consider different aspects of community-level evaluation research and demonstrate the emerging sophistication and promise of this field. Process evaluation, qualitative research, and meta-analysis are promising new directions for ensuring more appropriate levels of analysis and more appropriate outcomes. (SLD)

Discussion of intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) focuses on ITS evaluation studies, particularly methodological issues. Topics include summative evaluation for efficiency; quantitative evaluation; formative evaluation; informal evaluation; cognitive mediation perspectives of evaluation; integrating cognitive theories into ITS; effectiveness of…

Offers a critical reading of a text used in Ontario, Canada, in a province-wide sixth-grade testing program, finding it representative of a genre called "Boutique multiculturalism," which fails as literature and fails as an inclusive text because it is emptied of all specific social, cultural, and historical content. (SR)

Investigates the evaluation abilities of university music majors, as compared to expert voice teachers, in the evaluation of solo vocal performance. Concludes that the experts attained higher scores on the three measures of evaluation ability because of their previous evaluation experience and acquired critical listening skills. (CMK)

We provide an overview of where the field currently stands when it comes to having evidence-based methods and instruments available for use in assessing anxiety and its disorders in children and adolescents. Methods covered include diagnostic interview schedules, rating scales, observations, and self-monitoring forms. We also discuss the main…

Empirical studies demonstrated Type-I error (TIE) inflation (especially for highly discriminating easy items) of the Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test for differential item functioning (DIF), when data conformed to item response theory (IRT) models more complex than Rasch, and when IRT proficiency distributions differed only in means. However, no…

The standard Pearson correlation coefficient is a biased estimator of the true population correlation, ?, when the predictor and the criterion are range restricted. To correct the bias, the correlation corrected for range restriction, r-sub(c), has been recommended, and a standard formula based on asymptotic results for estimating its standard…

It is well-known that for normally distributed errors parametric tests are optimal statistically, but perhaps less well-known is that when normality does not hold, nonparametric tests frequently possess greater statistical power than parametric tests, while controlling Type I error rate. However, the use of nonparametric procedures has been…

Latent class analysis (LCA) provides a means of identifying a mixture of subgroups in a population measured by multiple categorical indicators. Latent transition analysis (LTA) is a type of LCA that facilitates addressing research questions concerning stage-sequential change over time in longitudinal data. Both approaches have been used with…

In the bookmark standard-setting procedure, judges place "bookmarks" in a reordered test booklet containing items presented in order of increasing difficulty. Traditionally, the bookmark difficulty location (BDL) is on the trait continuum where, for dichotomous items, there is a two-thirds probability of a correct response and, for a score of "k"…

Test-retest reliability of the Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.) was investigated in two studies using two different time intervals: 90 min and 1 week (plus or minus 2 days). To investigate the 90-min reliability, 31 school-age children (M = 10 years, SD = 2.66) were administered the T.O.V.A. then read ministered the test 90 min afterward.…

Emerging data support the construct validity of component process variables of learning and memory within the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R; Brandt & Benedict, 2001); however, the test-retest reliabilities of such measures are heretofore largely unknown. This study reveals generally modest-to-low 1-year test-retest stability for…