Early education programs are increasingly being promoted by states and the federal government as an integral part of their efforts to ensure that all children enter school ready to learn. As these programs and their enrollments have grown in recent years, so too have efforts to monitor their quality and performance. A common focus is on…

Oral language skills are important to consider in school psychology practice, as they are directly tied to many areas of academic functioning. For example, research has demonstrated that oral language skills in early elementary school predict reading comprehension in later grades (Kendeou, van den Broek, White, & Lynch, 2009). With a…

Asking college students how much they have learned or grown is a common assessment practice in student affairs and elsewhere. Unfortunately, recent research suggests that these self-reported gains do a very poor job of measuring actual student learning and growth. This paper provides an overview of the psychological process of how students likely…

Recognizing that some early endings are unavoidable, the author maintains that many mentor-mentee relationships quickly dissolve due to factors that may be avoidable, such as disappointment and dissatisfaction with the relationship. Findings from a range of research studies are offered. Higher levels of program support may be required for matches…

Successful mentors seem to understand and appreciate their mentees, entering their worlds to uncover their unique strengths and capabilities. This sort of empathy and sensitivity goes a long way toward facilitating close relationships, as does the mentee's willingness to fully engage in the mentoring experience. And, since initial resistances may…

This paper presents a framework that institutions of higher education can use to improve, revise and introduce comprehensive systems for the collection and dissemination of information on student learning outcomes. For faculty and institutional leaders grappling with the many issues and nuances inherent in assessing student learning, the framework…

Early identification of social-emotional behavioral problems in infants and preschoolers is critical. Nine parent-report and caregiver/teacher-report instruments measuring preschool social-emotional behavioral problems and strengths are reviewed. Advantages to the use of parent-report and caregiver/teacher-report instruments are that they are easy…

Community coalitions (CCs) have labored with some difficulty to demonstrate empirical evidence of effectiveness in preventing a wide range of adolescent problem behaviors. Training and technical assistance (TA) have been identified as important elements in promoting improved functioning of CCs. A reliable, valid, and inexpensive method to assess…

A measure, the Self-Injury Trauma Scale, is described for classifying and quantifying surface tissue damage. The scale permits differentiation of self-injurious behavior according to topography, location of the injury on the body, type of injury, number of injuries, and estimate of severity. High interrater reliability has been found. (Author/DB)

In an attempt to gain a fuller understanding of the basis of grading, ten assessors each assessed two portfolios drawn from the course archive which had been produced by participants on a course in teaching in higher education. Assessors gave a grade or judgement on each of a portfolio's 75 portfolio elements, reasons for each judgement they made,…

Group process and rating techniques were used to create a scale for measuring severity and frequency of 24 problem behaviors in institutionalized mentally retarded persons. A substantial correlation was found between scores and staff-time allocations, indicating usefulness of the scale as a predictor of staffing requirements for behavior…

A college faculty member who has graded Advanced Placement exam essays on U.S. government and politics, taken mostly by high school juniors and seniors, suggests that high school teachers and college faculty who assess the essays are not the best qualified persons to do so and that despite efforts to ensure consistency, the resulting scores are…

Drawing on several specific incidents of media misinterpretation or imbalanced reporting of information about higher education, particularly concerning faculty, the author examines how journalists can interpret and influence the balance of power on campuses. Issues discussed include presidential searches, campus employment patterns, and faculty…

Research findings were reviewed on the Auditory Visual Combined Discrimination Test, which can be used with severely and profoundly mentally retarded persons to assess basic position, visual, and auditory discriminations. The test was found to be reliable and predictive of client performance in classroom learning, language, and vocational tasks.…

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, a standardized protocol for observation of social and communicative behavior associated with autism, is described. Data on interrater reliability as well as test-retest reliability and discriminant validity are provided. (Author/DB)