To study the teaching-learning process in classrooms, a small sample of carefully selected teachers at the second- and fifth-grade levels were identified for one phase of the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study. A unique characteristic of this sample was that it included twenty teachers identified as relatively more effective in influencing…

The purpose of this technical report is to describe the Tests of General Ability and Tests of Reading of the Inter-American Series, to give a brief account of their construction, and to present related statistical data. Norms and suggestions on the use and interpretation of the tests are published separately. The Inter-American Series discussed in…

The purpose of this study is to assess the English vocabulary of Eskimo pupils entering a bilingual education program by establishing a normative criterion based on the vocabulary levels of children whose first language is English. The tests used, "Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices" and "English Receptive Vocabulary," bear out the anticipated…

Describes a study of the development of a new oral proficiency test which could replace the existing English as a Foreign Language Oral Matriculation test in Israel. The deficiencies of the existing Oral Matriculation test are specified, and the components of the experimental test are described. (Author/SED)

Information is provided on results from the Second International Mathematics Study conducted in 1981-82 in 236 eighth-grade classrooms in the United States. Content taught, teacher characteristics, types of instruction, attitudes, knowledge, and comparisons with students in other countries are discussed. (MNS)

Two experiments were conducted in Israeli elementary schools to test the assumption that disadvantaged students perform poorly on ability tests because of situational factors related to the testing process. Testing atmosphere and examiner status were examined with respect to verbal and nonverbal ability and intelligence. The assumption was not…

Gender differences in scholastic achievement as a function of measurement method were examined by comparing performance of 739 15-year-old boys and 758 15-year-old girls in Irish high schools on multiple-choice and free-response tests of mathematics, Irish, and English achievement. Method-based gender differences are discussed. (SLD)

A study of the effectiveness of teaching science to 2 classes of 15 and 20 ninth-graders, respectively, illustrates 5 aspects of educational evaluation: age factors in teachability, test unidimensionality, comparison of 2 classes of students regarding mean ability, objective difficulty of test items, and objective ability of individual students.…

Examines differences between Inuit and non-Inuit students in activism (social attitude), self-concept, and academic achievement. Inuits scored lower in activism and self-concept than non-Inuits. Suggests teachers create personalized classroom environments to positively affect activism and self-concept, and thereby enhancing achievement.…

Self-concept and peer-acceptance of 10 learning-disabled (LD) students were compared with 10 low-achieving and 10 high-achieving students over 4 to 5 years (from kindergarten) prior to and following identification of the LD students. Implications of LD identification for self-concept are discussed. (SLD)

Self-perceived competence was assessed for 60 8- 13-year-old children, grouped by learning disability and behavior disorder. Subjects included 15 controls and 3 groups of 15 learning-disabled children each ("normals," externalizers, and mixed symptomatology). Cognitive and social self-concept are as strongly related to behavioral factors…

Examinees in a regular administration of the quantitative portion of the Graduate Record Examination responded to particular items in a machine-scannable multiple-choice format. Volunteers (n=364) used a computer to answer open-ended counterparts of these items. Scores for both formats demonstrated similar correlational patterns. (SLD)

In this study, the author tested the reliability, concurrent validity, and predictive validity of three hemispheric cognitive style instruments: (a) the Preference Test (PT; R. Zenhausern, 1978), (b) the Polarity Questionnaire (PQ; B. E. Morton, 2002), and (c) the Wagner Preference Inventory II (WAPI II; R. F. Wagner & K. A. Wells, 1985).…

Because of a concern by the Alaska State Department of Education that results from the American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are not being used to their fullest advantage to improve secondary instruction, the use of these assessment results by other states was studied. A two-page survey and request for copies of state…

The level of confidence in pass/fail decisions obtained with computer adaptive tests (CATs) was compared to decisions based on paper-and-pencil tests. Subjects included 645 medical technology students from 238 educational programs across the country. The tests used in this study constituted part of the subjects' review for the certification…