This article describes surprising misconceptions revealed by a fifth-grade student during a series of interviews about probability.

A model of conditional discrimination performance (Davison & Nevin, 1999) is combined with the notion that unmeasured attending to the sample and comparison stimuli, in the steady state and during disruption, depends on reinforcement in the same way as predicted for overt free-operant responding by behavioral momentum theory (Nevin & Grace, 2000).…

Two experiments examined whether postsample signals of reinforcer probability or magnitude affected the accuracy of delayed matching to sample in pigeons. On each trial, red or green choice responses that matched red or green stimuli seen shortly before a variable retention interval were reinforced with wheat access. In Experiment 1, the…

This paper provides new information on what proportion of individuals spend their adult work lives in their childhood metropolitan area or state. I also examine how this proportion varies across different demographic groups, and with the size and growth rate of the metropolitan area. I find that the proportion of individuals who spend most of…

The authors present an analysis of portfolio entries submitted by candidates seeking certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in the area of Early Adolescence/Mathematics. Analyses of mathematical features revealed that the tasks used in instruction included a range of mathematics topics but were not consistently…

Objective: The validity and clinical utility of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-Junior, and Suicide Probability Scale (SPS) were examined longitudinally among suicidal adolescents. Method: Between 1998 and 2000, 289 psychiatrically hospitalized, suicidal youth, ages 12 to 17 years,…

South Africa has a Gini co-efficient of 62, one of the world's highest (Finmark: Project FinScope 2004 and 2005, FinMark Trust, Johannesburg). Hence, measures of wealth are ubiquitous social indicators in South Africa. However, a growing emphasis in government towards measurable service delivery targets and remedial action to redress the…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reviewed interventions to promote middle school students' math knowledge and skills. Because there is some variation in how school districts organize middle school, we considered curricula aimed at students in grades 6 through 9, covering one or more of the following content areas: numbers and operations,…

Standard item response theory (IRT) models posit latent variables to account for regularities in students' performance on test items. They can accommodate learning only if the expected changes in performance are smooth, and, in an appropriate metric, uniform over items. Wilson's "Saltus" model extends the ideas of IRT to development that…

This volume contains the full text of 2 plenary papers and 26 research reports. In addition, brief, usually one-page, reports are provided for 6 discussion groups, 10 technology focus groups, 7 symposiums, 7 oral presentations, and 17 position sessions. The two full plenary reports are: (1) "Problems of Reification: Representations and…

The comments presented here were made after the presentation of four papers and commentary by two other symposium participants. They address issues in language comparison and classification. First, comments are made on the papers ("An African Test Case in Comparative Methodology,""The Mathematics of Multilateral Comparison,""Testing a Basic…

This book reinforces the outstanding work done by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in developing curriculum standards for students in kindergarten through fourth grade by discussing the 13 strands of mathematics and their implications for teachers and parents who work with students. It also provides some suggested resources…

A method of generating common statistical tables using canned statistical computer software is presented. This method allows instructors to provide statistical tables for their students, tailored to their needs. The four most common tables used in elementary college statistics courses are z (standard normal), t, F, and chi square. Specific…

The Course Placement Service of the American College Testing Program (ACT) uses logistic regression to model the relationships between outcomes in standard college courses and placement test scores. The logistic regression results are used together with empirical test score data to obtain estimates of validity statistics (e.g., proportion of…

Taguchi methods are methods of product quality improvement that analyze major contributions and how they can be controlled to reduce variability of poor performance. In this approach, knowledge is used to shorten testing. Taguchi methods are concerned with process improvement rather than with process measurement. This manual is designed to be used…