This paper considers the feasibility of incorporating research results from cognitive science into the modeling of performance on psychometric tests and the construction of test items. The paper focuses on the feasibility of modeling performance on a three-dimensional rotation task within the context of Item Response Theory (IRT). To test the…

It is important to examine assumptions concerning leisure time and families within the larger contexts of demographic, technological, social, political, economic, and cultural change. Many people assume that individuals have more leisure time now than did their predecessors. While there has been a reduction in the average length of the work week,…

The Alaska School Effectiveness Project produced several reports in a series of reviews of research literature on such topics as time factors in learning. Using an ERIC search and conventional library methods, the question raised was "Is there a positive relationship between the amount of allocated time for studying a subject and achievement…

Community mental health centers have been faced with mandates to introduce new programs or improve old ones often without the necessary information or expertise to implement such changes. Community mental health centers (N=39) were studied to identify the nature and extent of information use and factors related to information use. Experts visited…

The plan for the evaluation of Janesville, Wisconsin, Public Schools Learning Disabilities Program is presented, along with 1980-1981 and 1981-1982 findings, and supplementary data and forms. The proposed evaluation model, which includes evaluation dimensions, evaluation procedures, and desired outcomes, is presented. The program is reviewed in…

The purpose of this guidebook is to give students, parents, and teachers some direction in helping middle and high school students find employment during their secondary school years. Suggestions for specific jobs where employers are sensitive to the needs of students who have experienced learning disabilities are made. Sources of information…

The question of whether performance measures may be more accurate than examination methods to assess an individual's abilities and knowledge is examined, based on a literature review. An information processing view that focuses on the internal activities of thinking and the relationship to external stimuli is considered. Information processing…

This eight-part factbook provides fall 1982 data on the facilities, faculty and staff, and full-time equivalent (FTE) and headcount enrollments at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC). After noting the factbook's purpose as a source of information for the school's management by objectives system, part 1 presents overall institutional data on…

Successful experimental programs, in which teachers have been trained to increase their students' academic achievement, were analyzed to identify common teacher functions. Six recent studies in which teachers implemented training and in which students had higher achievement were examined. Conclusions drawn from the analysis include: (1) Students…

A 1978 study (Torgesen, Bowen and Ivey) of the structure and modality variables of the Visual-Aural Digit Span (VADS) test was replicated to determine: (1) if the effects generalized across age; (2) if differences between simultaneous and sequential visually presented items were due to mode of presentation or the amount of study time; (3) the…

This paper describes the results of an evaluation of the Palliative Care Service, one of the first hospices in North America (Montreal), and the implications of that research for social policy development. The objectives of the research were to evaluate the reliability of predictive assessments of bereavement risk and the effectiveness of…

The report summarizies findings of a study of least restrictive environment (LRE) for handicapped students. Reviews are presented of the legal and legislative background of LRE, the conceptual background of research on environments, the concept of environment in special education, and the results and methodological issues in efficacy research.…

During the 1982-83 school year, the Huntington Beach City School District in southern California offered an experimental full-day instructional program for 60 kindergarten students. Instructional time in two experimental full-day classrooms was increased from 180 to 270 minutes. This study examines the processes and outcomes of the full-day…

Six papers examine aspects of special education and rehabilitation of developmentally handicapped persons. The first, "Legal and Human Rights of the Developmentally Handicapped Person" by N. Marlett examines issues in the protection of legal rights and the nature of competence. R. Davies and P. Johnson follow with an analysis of "Sexuality and the…

The physical activities of women in the colonial period in the United States were limited. Social attitudes differed between the northern and southern colonies on appropriate activities for women. In the north it was not considered unseemly for women to participate in ice skating, while in the south women were encouraged to become good…