Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are experiencing the exciting challenge of serving increasing numbers of English Language Learners (ELLs) in U.S. schools. When ELLs struggle in school, they may be overreferred for speech-language services. SLPs are routinely expected to differentiate a language difference based on cultural, linguistic, and…

This study focuses on teachers' use of informal formative assessments (IFAs) aimed at improving students' learning and teachers' recognition of students' learning processes. The study was designed as an explorative case study of four middle school teachers and their students at a charter school in the northeastern U.S.A. The data collected for the…

Educators have realized the importance of engaging students in learning. Teachers often see participatory behaviors like "hand raising" as evidence of students being engaged in an activity. These indications of engagement do not capture motivational factors behind true engagement. A research team developed a five item scale to easily…

In the past decade, educational environments have drastically changed over time and have become more diverse and complex. The rapid influx of pluralistic populations from a variety of different societies contribute to the diverse student population. Student diversity creates challenges to new teachers if they are not familiar with culturally…

The purpose of the present study was to determine if numeral knowledge--the ability to identify Arabic numerals and connect Arabic numerals to their respective quantities--mediates the relation between informal and formal mathematical knowledge. A total of 206 3- to 5-year-old preschool children were assessed on 6 informal mathematics tasks and 2…

The author began working with preschool-aged children long before becoming a professor, and nearly every element of the author's approach to teaching in higher education is rooted in early childhood theory and practice. In addition to provocations, he seeks to activate the "whole student," promote peer supports, and incorporate…

The article identifies the validity of assessment of non-formal and informal learning achievements (NILA) as one of the key factors for encouraging further development of the process of assessing and recognising non-formal and informal learning achievements in higher education. The authors analyse why the recognition of non-formal and informal…

The purpose of this study was to rate oral retellings of fifth graders to determine how passages, raters, and rating occasions affect those ratings, and to identify what combination of those elements produce reliable retelling ratings. A group of 36 fifth grade students read and orally retold three contemporary realistic fiction passages. Two…

This article describes the pilot study of an informal assessment, the "Student Transition Questionnaire" (STQ). The STQ is a 38-item assessment designed to elicit student perspectives on transition-related topics. In this mixed-methods study, we piloted the STQ with 186 participants, and then conducted focus groups with various…

Anatomists often use images in assessments and examinations. This study aims to investigate the influence of different types of images on item difficulty and item discrimination in written assessments. A total of 210 of 460 students volunteered for an extra assessment in a gross anatomy course. This assessment contained 39 test items grouped in…

Despite the increased use of video for data collection, most research using assessment interviews in early childhood education relies solely upon the analysis of linguistic data, ignoring children's bodies. This trend is particularly troubling in studies of marginalized children because transcripts limited to language can make it difficult to…

With the increasing amount of testing taking place in classrooms, teachers may question how appropriate those assessments are for the growing numbers of English language learners (ELLs) in the United States. One of the assessment options for classroom teachers is the informal reading inventory (IRI), which is the most frequently used assessment…

Introduction: This article discusses the impact of blindness and low vision on the development of object permanence and provides suggestions for assessment and instruction. Methods: The reviewed literature was identified by searching both ERIC and Psych Info using combinations of search terms such as "object permanence" and "visual…

This article, which focuses on oral reading rate, reports findings from a large assessment study in rural North Carolina. Students in grades 2 to 6 were assessed on the following measures: isolated word recognition (timed and untimed); oral reading accuracy, reading rate, and reading comprehension. Overall, the results (1) support traditional…

This toolkit was created to make transition planning easier and offers easy-to-understand information about the purpose of transition planning, the goal and importance of age-appropriate assessments, and the required rules that are used by schools. It also includes information on the community partners that can provide youth with supports as…