A study of 12 university students, 6 with blindness, investigated the extent to which auditory study is relevant for students with blindness compared to tactile study. Students with blindness performed equally well in the auditory and tactile conditions. while they did not perform better than controls in the auditory condition. (CR)

Examines the effects of school size on exam performance for pupils in their final year of compulsory education in England. Background information about English secondary schools and the determinants of exam performance are discussed along with a description of the variables used in the econometric analysis and their expected effects on exam…

Two studies examined efficacy of context reinstatement in enhancing 5- to 7-year olds' recall. Results showed that children exposed to a context reminder 24 hours before the six-month interview and children interviewed in the event context did not differ but reported significantly more information than children in standard interview. (Author/KB)

Examined the effect of taking open-ended tests on computers and on paper for students with different levels of computer skill using items from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System and the National Assessment of Educational Progress for 287 middle school students. Results suggest a large effect of mode of administration on student…

Presents a process for developing a system for monitoring literacy learning in students with disabilities. The three phases of developing the monitoring system include establishing learning targets, developing procedures, and refining the system. Examples of analyzing instructional routines for monitoring reading achievement are provided. (CR)

A study compared a brief and an extended functional analyses of three adults with serious developmental disabilities and aggressive or self-injurious behavior. Both analyses revealed the same controlling variables, but the brief functional analyses took less than 20% the time in analog conditions as the extended analyses. (Author/CR)

Preliminary analysis of data collected from trained expert facilitators of ad hoc creative teams (n=43) found that complex analytical techniques such as costed function modeling and decision criteria matrix may have far more impact upon a team's creative effectiveness than frequently researched measures such as idea quantity. (Contains…

Four experiments compared 4-year-olds' understanding of pretense to that of 3-year-olds or adults. When shown pictured items, 4-year-olds understood that only animates pretend, but 3-year-olds sometimes claimed that inanimates pretend. When shown actual items, even 4-year-olds sometimes claimed that inanimates pretend, especially when adults…

Two studies examined the relationship between phonological sensitivity and 5-year-olds' acquisition of new words that systematically differed in the familiarity of their sound structures. Found that phonological sensitivity was related to pair-associated learning of phonologically unfamiliar, but not familiar, words. Following phonological…

A comparison of reading rates of 24 print readers and 23 Braille readers on oral reading, silent reading, and studying, found significant differences as a function of reading group and reading task but no group-by-task interaction. Less than one-third of the Braille readers read slower than print readers. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Explored professional development needs related to demographic characteristics of principals and examined the relationship of professional development needs and self-reported job performance ratings. Responses of 140 principals show a positive relationship between professional development needs and self-reported job performance ratings. (SLD)

A study involving eight toddlers (aged 22 months) with hearing loss found significant correlations between the children's receptive vocabulary sources and other subscales of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory, as well as other measures of language, aspects of nonverbal cognition, and an assessment of symbolic play skills. (Contains…

Evaluates the success of the Integrated Information Center (IIC) project at the University of Minnesota. Highlights include the functionalities of the IIC, the impact of the IIC on the work life of the end-users, and the IIC as a model for information delivery. (MES)

Three studies examined linguistic factors influencing preschooler's phonemic awareness task performance. Results indicated no performance differences between fricatives and stops. Subjects were more likely to mistakenly judge that syllables began with a target phoneme when the initial phoneme differed from the target only in voicing than when it…

Examines the increasing demand for and proliferation of commercial tutoring services for grade school students. Discusses the approaches of several such programs, as well as the goals and attitudes of parents enlisting such services for their children. (HTH)