This study of 195 (108 boys) children seen twice during infancy (Time 1: 4.12 months; Time 2: 14.42 months) aimed to investigate the associations between and infant predictors of executive function (EF) at 14 months. Infants showed high levels of compliance with the EF tasks at 14 months. There was little evidence of cohesion among EF tasks but…

A relatively simple way of measuring institutional effectiveness in relation to degree completion is to estimate the difference between an actual and predicted graduation rate, but the reliability and validity of this method have not been thoroughly examined. Longitudinal data were obtained from IPEDS for both public and private not-for-profit…

Students routinely ignore negative feedback regarding their performances early in college science courses. In this study we analyzed the extent to which two standard forms of feedback, midterm and first-exam grades, correlated with final grades in several biology courses. The courses ranged from an introductory course for nonmajors to upper…

There are many situations where random assignment of participants to treatment and comparison conditions may be unethical or impractical. This article provides an overview of propensity score techniques that can be used for estimating treatment effects in nonrandomized quasi-experimental studies. After reviewing the logic of propensity score…

This study investigates whether adequate yearly progress (AYP) status, locale, and sector--common variables used to judge the quality of schools--accurately signal true differences in instructional practices in high school mathematics and science. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS), we find the school-to-school variation in…

This study examined the association between three types of physical activities (PA) and depression, and the relationship between PA and later mortality. Previous studies rarely assessed these associations in one single study in randomly selected population samples. Few studies have assessed these relations by adjusting the covariate of…

Seventy-three subjects tested at grade 4 were retested at grade 7 on five tasks. In addition, 138 seventh graders were tested on these tasks for the first time. Using performance at grade 4 to predict performance on different tasks at grade 7 often was more satisfactory than using seventh-grade predictors. (Author/WY)

A longitudinal study of 553 children, from kindergarten through grade 4, was conducted to determine whether measures readily available in school districts, taken in kindergarten by classroom teachers, could predict reading achievement on standardized tests in succeeding grades. Scores on the Metropolitan Readiness Test, the Draw-a-Man Test, a…

This study is phase one of a 4-year project. It was aimed at examining the predictive validity of six preschool screening instruments on later academic achievement. The six instruments were (1) the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test, (2) the Sprigle School Readiness Screening Test, (3) the Anton Brenner Developmental Gestalt Test of School…

Total motor and cognitive-motor performance at age 4 was related to home environment but not to neonatal reflexes. Large muscle skill was unrelated to environment but did relate to neonatal reflexes among girls. (Author)

An investigation was undertaken of the intercorrelations among residuals obtained by applying regression techniques under two conditions: (1) mean sixth-grade Metropolitan Achievement Test reading scores predicted by mean second-grade Stanford Achievement Test reading scores, and (2) mean sixth-grade reading scores predicted by mean second-grade…

In a longitudinal investigation, the subscales of the Dimensions of Self-Concept revealed declining predictive validity coefficients relative to criteria of secondary school grades. However, the Level of Aspiration subscale consistently exhibited significant predictive validities of student success during each of four time segments. (Author/DWH)

As part of a larger longitudinal study, scores of 239 children (ages 1 to 4) with disabilities on the Battelle Developmental Inventory (BDI) were compared with scores on the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Achievement (Revised) 1 to 3 years later. The BDI scores from children at or above age 2 predicted later achievement scores (mean correlation .74).…

Mounting pressure in the policy arena to improve teacher productivity either by improving signals that predict teacher performance or through creating incentive contracts based on performance--has spurred two related questions: Are there important determinants of teacher productivity that are not captured by teacher credentials but that can be…

This study was conducted to establish the existence of grade inflation and show that the ability of college students has remained constant. The second purpose was to examine the effect of grade inflation on the validity of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Two types of analyses were performed to gather data. A longitudinal analysis of selected…