Assessing ADHD Symptoms in Preschool Children: Use of the ADHD Symptoms Rating Scale

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood disorder that is typically diagnosed during the school years, although features of the disorder can be identified in early childhood. As more children enter into preschool programs, there are increasing opportunities for professionals to identify and treat ADHD prior to school entry. This may increase the likelihood that children will have successful academic and social experiences. Unfortunately, diagnosing ADHD in preschoolers is difficult, in part because few assessment instruments are designed and validated for this age group. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric and normative properties of the ADHD-Symptoms Rating Scale (ADHD-SRS) in preschool children. Results shed light on normative levels of ADHD behaviors in preschool children and suggest that preschoolers may present with a somewhat different symptom pattern than school-age children. Further, findings reveal that parents are more likely to endorse ADHD symptoms in their children than are teachers. Given this disparity, the current data emphasize the need for cross-informant assessment in the preschool population.     

The Incidence of Delayed School Entry: A Twelve-Year Review

Delaying school entry for a year beyond a child's chronological eligibility for kindergarten is a controversial practice. However, it is unclear from the available literature exactly how common this practice is. The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence of delayed kindergarten entry in a suburban school district over a 12-year period. In this district, school personnel did not make formal recommendations to parents to delay kindergarten entry for their children. A review of the incidence data indicated that, in general, there had been a significant increase in the number of children who had delayed school entry. Furthermore, significantly more males than females had delayed kindergarten entry, and the majority of children who delayed school entry had autumn birthdates, making them the youngest group of children in this study. Implications for school practices are discussed.     

An Exploratory Analysis of Differential Item Functioning and Its Possible Sources in a Higher Education Admissions Context

We analyzed a pool of items from an admissions test for differential item functioning (DIF) for groups based on age, socioeconomic status, citizenship, or English language status using Mantel-Haenszel and item response theory. DIF items were systematically examined to identify its possible sources by item type, content, and wording. DIF was primarily found in the citizenship group. As suggested by expert reviewers, possible sources of DIF in the direction of U.S. citizens was often in Quantitative Reasoning in items containing figures, charts, tables depicting real-world (as opposed to abstract) contexts. DIF items in the direction of non-U.S. citizens included “mathematical” items containing few words. DIF for the Verbal Reasoning items included geocultural references and proper names that may be differentially familiar for non-U.S. citizens. This study is responsive to foundational changes in the fairness section of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, which now consider additional groups in sensitivity analyses, given the increasing demographic diversity in test-taker populations.     

A Comparison of Quantitative Questions in Open-Ended and Multiple-Choice Formats

Open–ended counterparts to a set of items from the quantitative section of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE–Q) were developed. Examinees responded to these items by gridding a numerical answer on a machine-readable answer sheet or by typing on a computer. The test section with the special answer sheets was administered at the end of a regular GRE administration. Test forms were spiraled so that random groups received either the grid-in questions or the same questions in a multiple-choice format. In a separate data collection effort, 364 paid volunteers who had recently taken the GRE used a computer keyboard to enter answers to the same set of questions. Despite substantial format differences noted for individual items, total scores for the multiple-choice and open-ended tests demonstrated remarkably similar correlational patterns. There were no significant interactions of test format with either gender or ethnicity.     

An Evaluation of the Effect of Various Reinforcers used as Motivators in Swimming

Abstract

Three kinds of reward were contrasted as to their effect upon swimming work volume. Extrinsic reinforcers of candy and money significantly improved performance over coach's attention and a control condition. The effects of these conditions were differentially affected by age. The significance of these results implies that the role of the swimming coach should be changed to maximize the work response of swimmers.     

A Simple Answer to a Simple Question on Changing Answers

In an article in the Winter 2011 issue of the Journal of Educational Measurement, van der Linden, Jeon, and Ferrara suggested that “test takers should trust their initial instincts and retain their initial responses when they have the opportunity to review test items.” They presented a complex IRT model that appeared to show that students would be worse off by changing answers. As noted in a subsequent erratum, this conclusion was based on flawed data, and that the correct data could not be analyzed by their method because the model failed to converge. This left their basic question on the value of answer changing unanswered. A much more direct approach is to simply count the number of examinees whose scores after an opportunity to change answers are higher, lower, or the same as their initial scores. Using the same data set as the original article, an overwhelming majority of the students received higher scores after the opportunity to change answers.     

Marketing Gets Personal: Promoting Reference Staff to Reach Users

ABSTRACT

With a growing population of part-time and distance education students, changing technologies, and evolving user expectations, it is becoming increasingly challenging to reach users through traditional marketing approaches. This article will review previous trends in library marketing and promotion and explore new initiatives, including partnering with marketing courses, roving reference, and highlighting staff expertise to raise awareness among users.

This article originally published in Journal of Library Administration, Vol. 51, Issue 3, pages 291–300, 2011. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2011.556945.     

Sexual Justice Is Social Justice: An Activity to Expand Social Work Students Understanding of Sexual Rights and Injustices

Social work education could benefit from an explicit educational framework that combines social justice and sexuality: sexual justice. However, there is a paucity of literature in social work discussing this critical issue. This article helps equip social workers to challenge social injustice through a lens of sexuality and builds a conceptual framework by examining sexual justice through pillars of social work: human dignity, community and solidarity, rights and responsibilities, priority for the poor and vulnerable, and peace. An activity providing micro and macro case discussions is presented to help infuse sexual justice into social work programs.