The examination of barriers in relation to college students' vocational choice and development is an important area of research, but the barrier of classism is relatively underexamined. This may be due to the deficiencies in measurement, so we describe herein the development of a new measure, the Experiences with Classism scale (EWCS). The EWCS…

The aim of this longitudinal study was to gain an understanding of how Swiss student teachers (n = 253), who had passed a competence-based admission test, were assessed by their mentors after the first year of teaching. The results revealed a high correlation between the students' initial cross-curricular competencies (CCC) and their mentors'…

This study reports on an investigation of the predictive validity of the TOEFL iBT®test in an English-medium institution (EMI) in a non-target-language context, namely, Turkey. The relationship between TOEFL iBT scores and academic performance was explored in a cohort of 286 undergraduate students, as was the TOEFL iBT's relationship with an…

For years, colleges have used placement exams to determine whether to deem incoming students "college ready" or assign them to developmental education. Emerging information reveals the tests have little correlation to students' future success, casting doubt on their use even as the high stakes for students of taking remedial courses become clear.…

Research has long been clear that teachers matter more to student learning than any other in-school factor. Improving the quality of teaching is critical to student success. Yet only recently have many states and districts begun to take seriously the importance of evaluating teacher performance and providing teachers with the feedback they need to…

Data-mined models often achieve good predictive power, but sometimes at the cost of interpretability. We investigate here if selecting features to increase a model's construct validity and interpretability also can improve the model's ability to predict the desired constructs. We do this by taking existing models and reducing the feature set to…

Several studies have concluded that scores from Hare's (2003) Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R) predict reoffense among sexual offenders, but most of those studies examined the predictive validity of scores from trained research staff, not clinicians in the field scoring the measure as part of actual forensic assessments. Therefore, we…

Many researchers have explored the relationships between the likelihood of graduating from college and demographic and pre-college factors such as gender, race/ethnicity, high school grade point average (GPA), and standardized test scores. However, additional factors such as a student's college major, home address, or use of learning support in…

Many countries have implemented policies to prevent or combat educational disadvantage associated with socioeconomic factors in the students' home environment. Under such policies, educational institutions generally receive extra support from the central or local government. The support is normally based on indicators available in the home…

The present study aimed to investigate the diverse aspects of prospective teachers' dispositional hopes, teaching-specific hopes, and their sources, as well as to explore whether these would significantly predict their preparation for the teaching profession. A total of 851 prospective teachers voluntarily participated in the study. A series of…

This study examines the application of the Simple View of Reading (SVR), a reading comprehension theory focusing on word recognition and linguistic comprehension, to English Language Learners' (ELLs') English reading development. This study examines the concurrent and predictive validity of two components of the SVR, oral language and word-level…

The current study examined the utility and incremental validity of parent ratings on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Disruptive Behavior Disorders rating scale completed at kindergarten registration in identifying risk status as defined by important criterion variables (teacher ratings, daily behavioral performance, and quarterly…

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between critical thinking and metacognition. The sample of study consists of 390 university students who were enrolled in different programs at Sakarya University, in Turkey. In this study, the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale and Metacognitive Thinking Scale were used. The relationships…

The Hope Scale is an 11-item teacher-rating instrument designed to help identify academic and social components of giftedness. It provides insights from teachers who work with students on a daily basis, which may differ from the type of information yielded through achievement and ability tests. The Hope Scale development was made possible by the…

Since 2001, Brazilian universities have been implementing affirmative-action policies to correct the racial, social and ethnic disparities in university admissions. An examination of the social-inclusion policies at three public universities in Brazil--the University of Brasilia, the Federal University of Bahia and the State University of…