The design and use of a valid and reliable instrument for the assignment of cognitive complexity ratings to chemistry exam items is described in this paper. Use of such an instrument provides a simple method to quantify the cognitive demands of chemistry exam items. Instrument validity was established in two different ways: statistically…

The authors examined discrimination history, backlash fear, and ethnic identity of Arab Americans nationally at 3 times, beginning shortly after September 11, 2001. Relations between variables were moderate, and discrimination history and backlash fear were statistically significant predictors of ethnic identity. Implications for acculturation and…

This article presents the results of a meta-analysis of the empirical literature on anxious symptomatology among school-aged students with learning disabilities (LD) in comparison to their non-LD peers. Fifty-eight studies met inclusion criteria. Results indicate that students with LD had higher mean scores on measures of anxiety than did non-LD…

It is common to consider Tukey's schematic ("full") boxplot as an informal test for the existence of outliers. While the procedure is useful, it should be used with caution, as at least 30% of samples from a normally-distributed population of any size will be flagged as containing an outlier, while for small samples (N less than 10) even extreme…

A hallmark of current science education reform involves teaching through inquiry. However, the widespread use of inquiry-based instruction in many classrooms has not occurred (Roehrig and Luft in "Int J Sci Educ" 26:3-24, 2004; Schneider et al. in "J Res Sci Teach" 42:283-312, 2005). The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a…

This paper is conceptualized to examine ways by which higher education in our own country (Nigeria) could be re-organized in such a manner that critical thinking skills could be imbued in the young learners, in order to make them problem solvers, thereby become assets rather than liabilities to the Nigerian society. In specific terms, the paper…

Based on Astin's (1993) theory of involvement and Astin's (1991) college impact model a model of college student leader development was developed to examine the process of leader development among students who participated in sport during college. In addition, the differences between students who participated in different levels of sport…

This quantitative correlational study involved the analysis, by gender, of the effect of four intervention programs at an Arizona middle school as seen on Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) test scores. These four intervention programs included: Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), a planner stamping system, a World…

The purpose of this study was to determine if English Language Learner (ELL) reading achievement scores could be related to the group's participation in Response to Intervention (RTI). RTI addresses the challenges many public schools face as they seek the best methods for teaching reading and language while facing a nationally significant…

This study investigated the effects of teacher sense of efficacy for literacy instruction on reading achievement in grades three through eight. In previous studies, a teacher's sense of efficacy was shown to be correlated to student achievement (Ashton & Webb, 1986; Moore & Esselman, 1992). However, research attempting to uncover the…

Through a single-subject multiple-baseline across-participants design, the present study examined the effects of Reciprocal Teaching (RT) instruction and Spanish use on the cognitive strategy use and English reading comprehension of four, 4th grade Spanish-speaking bilingual students that are "good" decoders but "poor"…

Students with disabilities participate in high-stakes assessments to meet NCLB's newer proficiency standards. This study explored performance in reading and math on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), Pennsylvania's grade-level assessment, to provide a foundational baseline on performance and accommodations used by students with…

Overall, pretest-posttest results indicated statistically significant pretest beginning program compared to posttest ending program percentage of behavioral improvement for on task, following directions, and positive interactions outcomes improvement for individual students who completed the elementary grades pro-social cognitive behavioral skills…

This study utilized the existing database from the Iowa State University 2009-2010 COACHE Tenure-Track Job Satisfaction Survey Report to explore faculty work life balance and job satisfaction among academic disciplines at Iowa State University. The articulation of work and life, cast as work life balance, has become a key feature of much current…

Literature on factors contributing to the retention of international students remained limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors related to retention of international undergraduate degree seeking students through conducting pairwise correlational analysis to test the relationship between retention and age, gender, country of…