Psychologists (N=56) participated in an adapted version of Algozzine and Ysseldyke's (1981) diagnostic simulation to investigate the effects of sociocultural background (rural vs. suburban) and assessment data (normal vs. learning disabled) on educational decisions. Findings suggest school psychologists utilize multiple sources of information but…

The results of a study of employee satisfaction with three types of performance appraisal are reported. The three appraisal forms used in the study were Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS), Graphic Rating Scales (GRS), and Mutually Identified Duties and Responsibilities (MI). (MLW)

The subjects were 432 male freshmen at the University of North Dakota who completed the Vocational Preference Inventory and the Strong Vocational Interest Blank. Backward stepwise multiple regression was used to determine the relationships of eight SVIB nonoccupational scales to first semester GPA for the total research population and for each…

One aspect of the validity of medical students' clinical performance ratings are studied. It is demonstrated that there are higher correlations between house officer ratings of student knowledge and cognitive ability scores than between attending staff evaluations and student ability scores. (Author/GK)

Point systems in intramural competition do not accurately reflect the participation value of each sport. A system is presented in which point values are automatically adjusted to differences in group participation from sport to sport. This system is based on the set number of participants per sport and on the number of contests played per season.…

Some causes for reliability problems in tutor-marked assignments are discussed: factors relating to the questions such as ambiguous, overloaded, hidden agenda, and unrealistic questions; variations caused by differing tutor notes; and students not answering the question, scales and standards, rounding and partial scores, and bonus marks. (JMF)

Essay assignments provide a major portion of students' grades in most Open University curricula. The main educational objectives of essay questions are relevance and the ability to argue a thesis in the light of the course material. (JMF)

Compares prior understanding of basic concepts of students enrolled in majors' versus nonmajors' introductory biology courses. Results revealed that nonmajors demonstrated greater improvement in posttest scores than did majors and their attitude toward science were improved, whereas student attitudes in the majors' courses declined in nearly all…

Recognizes the attraction of Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), a technique that uses a scale to measure client's achievement, but suggests that there are concerns about the calculation of its standard scores. Examples show how GAS may be used in service development, whether or not numerical values are attached. (Author/CR)

While No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has focused school officials' attention on staying off the dreaded list of schools failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress, the story of the law's negative effects on teaching and learning, particularly in schools at risk of failure, is beginning to emerge. In this article, the authors discuss NCLB's effects on…

If personal computers (PCs) are used to facilitate learning, then a home computer might be considered a potential input in an educational production function. Using data on British youths from the British Household Panel Survey between 1991 and 2001, this paper explores the link between ownership of a home computer at ages 15 and 17 and subsequent…

This essay advances a way of thinking about assessment that envelops both process and outcome. We assert that learning in community service learning and the assessment thereof might fruitfully be considered in communication with others (the students, constituents from the community, instructors, etc.). Concepts central to a social approach to…

Purpose: To examine the functional impact of specific language impairment (SLI). Specific goals were to determine whether (a) subjective ratings of narrative quality differentiate children with SLI from their normally developing (ND) age-mates, (b) laypersons and teachers differ in their ratings of narrative quality, (c) objective measures confirm…

How much can late schooling investments close racial and ethnic skill gaps? We investigate this question by exploiting the large differences in completed schooling that arise among teenagers with birthdays near school-entry cutoff dates. We estimate that an additional year of high school raises the Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT) scores of…

This study focuses on an issue of recent policy significance--the need to aid teachers in successfully identifying why children struggle to acquire literacy. This study (a) asked K-1 teachers to nominate students that they believed to be at risk for literacy difficulties and to provide reasons for their concern, (b) examined how these reasons…