Reports on the development of the Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS) at Kent State University (Ohio) for programmatic-level assessment of information literacy skills. Once validated, the instrument will be used to assess entry skills upon admission and longitudinally to ascertain whether there is significant change in…

This article discusses evidence for functional behavioral assessment (FBA) procedures in terms of the meaning and interpretation of different forms of reliability and validity in FBA. It concludes that additional research needs to be conducted with various target behaviors across different settings to support the continued use of FBA. (Contains…

An instrument to assess the risk of child abuse in families affected by substance abuse is presented. The assessment tool is intended to be used as a guide in data gathering and case planning and for monitoring family progress and evaluating the outcomes of services. Data on the instrument's reliability and validity are presented. (CR)

This study examines the reliability and validity of various behavior rating scales, side effects checklists, and an ecobehavioral observation system used to study self-injurious behavior among persons with mental retardation. Findings from testing with 30 adults suggest that further refinement is necessary to reliably and sensitively assess the…

An Australian study of 110 mother-infant dyads and 85 mother-toddler dyads in which the mothers were mentally ill evaluated the effectiveness of the Mother and Child Risk Observation (MACRO). Results found that MACRO offers a convenient framework for assessing risk and interpreting the impact of maternal mental illness upon children. (Author/CR)

Over 5,200 youths processed through a Juvenile Assessment Center during a 20-month period were involved in this study of recidivism predictors. Significant relationships were found between the youths' demographics, dependency referral factors, delinquency referral history variables, and recidivism. Direct implications for service delivery and…

A study of 943 personal narratives of students with deafness evaluated the effectiveness of the Six-Trait Analytical Scale in assessing student's writing. The scale was found to be reliable and valid in evaluating written narratives of students with and without hearing losses and is recommended as a valuable diagnostic instrument and instructional…

Using data from a study with a prospective-cohorts design, accuracy of adult recollection was assessed for 1,574 young adults for whom information from the past 20 years was available. Results indicate good discriminant validity and predictive efficiency of the two self-report measures used. (SLD)

Explores plausible differences in composing processes when English as a Second Language (ESL) students write timed-essays on paper and on the computer. Examines the way in which the quality of the written products differs across paper and computer modes. Reveals that individual participants are engaged in different ways and to differing degrees by…

Established the psychometric properties of the Self-Motivation Inventory for Children (SMI-C) using tests of factorial validity, factorial invariance, latent mean structure, and predictive validity. Two cohorts of black and white adolescent girls completed the SMI-C and various physical activity measures. The single-factor, positively worded,…

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of 70 Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) items were used to create a shorter 28-item version and test the measurement invariance of the 25 clinical items across adult substance abusing patients, adolescent psychiatric inpatients, and control populations (n=1,978). Items performed equivalently across…

Addresses issues in evaluating the consequences of assessment programs that are developed to hold schools accountable to state standards. Proposes a validation study to obtain consequential evidence for state assessment and accountability programs that includes a validity argument, propositions that follow from the validity argument, a definition…

A study examined the office disciplinary referrals of 103 children who met the borderline or clinical cut-off scores of the Teacher Report Form. Results indicate there was a low-to-moderate degree of correspondence between children identified via a systematic gating procedure that included the form and office disciplinary referrals. (Contains…

Calls for carefully executed research that explores the impact of instructional practices on learning outcomes. Discusses considerations relevant to selecting the outcome measures (including types of outcomes, longitudinal effects, and "real world" impact). Urges caution in designing such research to ensure its internal validity and external…

Chinese teachers in high-achieving (n=103) and low-achieving (n=77) schools completed measures of job satisfaction, intention to quit, and spurning (student rejection of teacher help). Teachers of lower achievers were spurned more often. For both groups, spurning predicted job satisfaction but not likelihood of quitting and also predicted stress…