The lack of a unified definition of giftedness leads researchers to use very different operationalizations when selecting a sample of gifted individuals for use in research. We found 104 empirical articles from 38 journals that differentiated between gifted and nongifted students which were analyzed to determine the most common methods of…

Research on disability issues in countries of the South is primarily dominated by a focus on generating large scale quantitative data sets. This paper discusses the many challenges, opportunities and dilemmas faced in designing and undertaking a qualitative research study in one district in India. The Disability, Education and Poverty Project…

Describes a classroom demonstration that illustrates the error of using an inappropriate test to conclude that a specific ability does not exist within a subject or a population. Shows ways to expand the lesson to cover the issue of null conclusions. Points out social and methodological implications of the demonstration. (Author/LS)

This paper describes world perspectives on gifted education, focusing on definitions, identification procedures, and attitudes. It then examines key areas in gifted education that require further clarification and rigorous examination. (Author/JDD)

Comments upon a 1981 article by Alexander, Pallas, and Cook. Discusses whether particular standardized tests measure achievement or ability and the implications of this issue for school effects research. (GC)

Analysis of Pegnato and Birch's data invalidates the observation that teacher nominations should not be relied upon in gifted identification, as analysis shows that effectiveness and efficiency are related to number of subjects singled out as a result of the chosen cutoff value. An alternative is presented: compare correlation coefficients of the…

The use of ability testing for job selection has become widespread in the Federal Government and in the U.S. Employment Service, which assists private sector employers. The justification for the practice is based largely on research findings claiming a high level of validity for such tests in predicting job performance. More recently, such claims…

Discusses the need for appropriate controls in school effects research based on standardized test outcomes. (GC)

Presents both logical and empirical evidence to illustrate that the conventional scoring algorithm for ranking tasks significantly underestimates the initial level of group ability and that Slevin's alternative scoring algorithm significantly overestimates the initial level of ability. Presents a modification of Slevin's algorithm which authors…

After an interview procedure used with educable mentally retarded children is described, the findings of an examination of some collected interview data are reported in this study of the Computer Based Project for the Evaluation of Media for the Handicapped. An ex post facto analysis revealed a moderately high correlation between interviewer…

This research is, in part, a study of a method of differentiating between two different types of retardation (the exogenous or brain injured and the endogenous or non-brain injured). However, this paper is also an example of the evaluation of a research problem, for it incorporates data and information from three different studies, each of which…

The advantages that computer adaptive testing offers over linear tests have been well documented. The Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) design is more efficient than the Linear test design as fewer items are needed to estimate an examinee's proficiency to a desired level of precision. In the ideal situation, a CAT will result in examinees answering…