A model for the validation of standardized tests of academic achievement upon populations not represented in the samples used to standardize the tests is presented, and the results of a field testing of the model are described. The 1973 editions of the Stanford Achievement Test and the Test of Academic Skills were administered to a sample of…

This paper reviews 25 studies of intervention research in mathematics with subjects classified as mentally retarded. Research has primarily been conducted in three areas: basic skills and concepts; rule learning and problem solving; and applications, including time, money, and measurement skills. Results are discussed in relation to instructional…

This paper reports on the promises and pitfalls of the recently legislated basic skills testing requirement for teaching or service credential applicants in California. The California Basic Education Skills Test (CBEST), developed by Educational Testing Service from specifications set by Advisory Board to the State Department of Education, tests…

Twelve proficient peer models without disabilities demonstrated a response chain for a targeted learning task each day and described the steps to three classmates with developmental disabilities, who observed. The peer models performed the response chains accurately and quickly and the students with disabilities acquired the response chains. (DB)

This article proposes a four-component framework for understanding the literacy of individuals with visual impairments, and defines two levels of literacy--basic (or academic) and functional (or practical) literacy. Implications are drawn for development of self-advocacy skills, development of standards for judging literacy in this population, and…

In an effort to expand research on effective and ineffective schools into the area of student attitudes, this study examined the cognitive, as well as the noncognitive scores for two groups of Pennsylvania schools that had been identified as effective or ineffective. Cognitive and noncognitive data were available for all 500 school districts for…

This paper reports preliminary findings from data gathering efforts of the Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) Commission on Developing Public Confidence in the Schools, and then charts several applications of some confidence-building techniques. A pilot test identified factors that caused people to gain or lose confidence in schools. Respondents (N=409)…

The Basic Achievement Skills Individual Screener is described as a quick screening tool for assessing basic skills of students functioning at grade 1-8 levels. The tool uses norm-referenced and criterion-referenced measures to assess achievement in reading, mathematics, spelling, and writing. This paper discusses test administration, scoring,…

The IEA Study of Writing was prepared in response to an increased concern for an interest in world literacy. Additional issues addressed were: (1) setting learning in the context of the cultural framework, curricular emphases and teaching practices, rather than just determining the level of achievement, and (2) making it possible for each…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a multidimensional treatment in the study of the content area of social studies would help the average and below average student. The 37 fifth-grade students in this study came from a middle-socioeconomic level of north central New Jersey. The 18 students in the experimental sample received special…

This study was designed to illustrate the use of the Rasch model procedure to equate the Dade County Compensatory Education Skills Test (DCCEST) to the State Student Assessment Test (SSAT) for both mathematics skills and communications skills. The SSAT was a test developed by the Florida State Department of Education to measure students' level of…

This paper analyzes the methodology and effectiveness of the training approaches implemented in 28 empirical studies on basic motor skills instruction for children with neuromotor delays. For all types of training approaches (neuromotor interventions, sensory integration techniques, behavioral programing, and naturalistic programing), assessment…

Many basic skills are chains of cognitive operations. For teaching such skills, two questions have not been adequately investigated: (1) how the operations comprising the skill should be sequenced, and (2) the relationships among the operations that need to be taught. This investigation entailed four studies on different types and lengths of basic…

This report summarizes the proceedings of a conference at which delegations from 40 Commonwealth countries and 7 dependent territories gathered. The principal theme of the conference was "Improving the Quality of Basic Education." The first part of the report presents the findings of ministerial committees on four theme topics: (1) better schools…

Applications of the qualitative approach in the evaluation of special education and second language programs are addressed in this paper. Qualitative data are recommended for providing detailed descriptions of specific program elements, and can be obtained through interviews, observations, case studies, and ethnographic studies. Six evaluation…