When it is required to estimate item parameters of a large item bank, Multiple Matrix Sampling (MMS) design provides an efficient way while minimizing the test burden on students. The current study exemplifies how to calibrate a large item pool using MMS design for various purposes, such as developing a CAT administration. The purpose of the…

In recent years, there has been increasing awareness on the benefits of social-emotional competencies (SEC) on Israeli students. A self-report SEL measure tailored to the Israeli context, however, has yet to be developed. This research aims to validate the Social-Emotional Questionnaire for Grades 4-6 (SEQ [G4-6]), a new self-report questionnaire…

Administered Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) and Stanford-Binet Fourth Edition (Binet IV) to 32 gifted third- and fourth-graders. Binet IV scores averaged eight points higher than K-ABC scores. Concurrent validity coefficient of .70 indicated high degree of association between test performance on two tests. Results support use of…

Compares the predictive and concurrent validities of a learning efficiency test with that of another test. Memory factor scores of the learning efficiency test correlated significantly with the other test's scores, with class grades, and with actual grade-level functioning in reading. The learning efficiency test's validity compares favorably to…

A study examined the effect of geographic mobility on elementary school students' achievement. Although such mobility, which requires students to make multiple moves among schools, can have a negative impact on academic achievement, the hypothesis for the study was that it was not a determining factor in reading achievement test scores. Subjects…

THIS STUDY WAS CONCERNED WITH IDENTIFYING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHILDREN OF AVERAGE MUSICAL ABILITY AND CHILDREN GIFTED MUSICALLY AS THEY ENGAGED IN CERTAIN MUSIC ACTIVITIES. DATA WERE OBTAINED FROM TESTS OF 227 MADISON, WISCONSIN, PUBLIC SCHOOL CHILDREN, GRADES 4-6. THE TAPE-RECORDING TEST WAS IN 2 PHASES--(1) 89 CHILDREN, SELECTED AT RANDOM…

Effects of schema-based cues (previewing) and structure-based cues (structure cueing) on comprehension of expository prose were studied with 74 fourth graders. Results indicate a significant pattern of higher performance by the previewing group, in comparison with the structure-cued group and a control group. (SLD)

The instructional effectiveness of commercially prepared test preparation materials was studied using Riverside Publishing Company's "Improving Test-Taking Skills" materials. The study further investigated differential effects of test-taking instruction as a result of student characteristics. In the first year of the study (1986-87),…

This study assessed how goal setting and progress feedback affect self-efficacy and writing achievement for 20 male and 20 female fourth graders. Children received writing strategy instruction and were given a process goal of learning the strategy, a product goal of writing paragraphs, or a general goal of working productively (control condition).…

Sixty fourth, fifth, and sixth grade African American students (37 males and 23 females) at a public school in northeast Mississippi were administered the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking--Figural Form A (TTCT). Subjects were from 9 to 13 years old. The TTCT consists of 3 subtests: (1) picture construction (1 stimulus); (2) picture completion…

This study determined if the use of visual imagery and verbal rehearsal would benefit readers who had third or fourth grade reading level ability. Readily available trade materials were used each totalling approximately 400 to 600 words in length and containing novel content to eliminate the possibility of prior knowledge. The study used the…

A study involving all students taking the California Achievement Test (CAT) in the Cleveland City School District (Ohio) during the fall of 1989 was conducted to assess the effects of the use of parallel test forms. Each spring, all students in grades 4, 6, and 8 are selected to take the appropriate level of the CAT reading test, Form E. As a…

Figural response items (FRIs) in science were administered to 347 fourth graders, 365 eighth graders, and 322 twelfth graders. Item and test statistics from parallel FRIs and multiple-choice questions illustrate FRIs' more difficult and more discriminating nature. Relevance of guessing to FRIs and diagnostic value of the item type are highlighted.…

This study assessed whether or not classroom-based micro-computer applications can help improve students' performance on standardized tests, and which subject areas such programs are most effective in for fourth graders in two Mississippi schools. The Teaching and Learning with Computers (TLC) program placed a local area network in the school with…

In the spring of 1988, Massachusetts conducted its second Educational Assessment Program to assess the performance of students in grades 4, 8, and 12 in reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. Students' responses to open-ended questions in one form of the reading test were studied. One-twelfth of the fourth-graders, one-sixteenth of the…