Kindergarten screening: A survey of current practice

This study investigated current practices for screening new entrants to schools. A mail survey was conducted of 755 public‐ and private‐school districts in New York State to ascertain the procedures and instruments used to conduct kindergarten screening. Fifty‐one percent (385) of the districts responded. Thirty percent of the districts reported that they used locally developed screening instruments. The most widely used standardized instruments were the Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL‐R) (Mardell‐Czudnowski & Goldenberg, 1990), and the Brigance K & 1 Screen (Brigance, 1992). The great majority of respondents (95%) reported that screening is conducted on an individual basis, and in 45% of the districts, professionals spend more than 30 minutes in screening procedures with each child. On average, 3.58 different educational professionals in each district participate in screening procedures. About half of the districts reported that children identified as “unready” on the basis of screening procedures were referred for further evaluation; 19% of the districts advised parents to delay school entry for an additional year. Most districts (69%) reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with current district practice. Implications for practitioners are discussed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A model using the WISC-R to predict success in programs for gifted students

The present study attempted to develop a quantitative model using the WISC-R that could be used to predict those students most likely to be successful in gifted education programs. The study was conducted in two phases using two groups of gifted children. In phase one, 120 elementary students randomly chosen from a pullout program in a suburban school served as the subject pool. The subjects had varying degrees of success in the program. Phase one subject data were used to develop a quantitative model; phase two subjects were used for predictive purposes. Specific results in phase one yielded six maximally discriminant WISC-R subtests. These subtests were then used to predict at well above chance levels (87.8%) those students who were known to have been either marginally or highly successful in the program (n = 41). The present study goes one step beyond previous research by using these maximally discriminant subtests to predict program performance of gifted children.     

The Impact of Three-Dimensional Printed Anatomical Models on First-Year Student Engagement in a Block Mode Delivery

Student engagement is known to have several positive effects on learning outcomes and can impact a student's university experience. High levels of engagement in content-heavy subjects can be difficult to attain. Due to a major institutional restructure, the anatomy prosection laboratory time per subject was dramatically reduced. In response, the authors set out to redesign their anatomy units with a focus on engaging the learning activities that would increase time-on-task both within and outside of the classroom. One of these curriculum changes was the implementation of a suite of anatomy learning activities centered on sets of three-dimensional printed upper limb skeleton models. A two-part mixed-method sequential exploratory design was used to evaluate these activities. Part one was a questionnaire that evaluated the students' engagement with and perceptions of the models. Part two involved focus groups interviews, which were an extension of the survey questions in part one. The results of the study indicated that the majority of students found the models to be an engaging resource that helped improve their study habits. As a result, students strongly felt that the use of the models inspired greater academic confidence and overall better performance in their assessments. Overall, the models were an effective way of increasing the engagement and deep learning, and reinforced previous findings from the medical education research. Future research should investigate the effects of these models on student's grades within osteopathy and other allied health courses.     

A Testing Time: the role of subjective practices in making sense of student performance

This paper examines some of the practices and accompanying assumptions that underlie the work of assessing students' written performance. Examiners are shown to give meaning to, and to construct and reconstruct, the answers that their students provide. In doing this resort is made to common sense or taken for granted concepts, many of which involve labelling. Political processes such as power, negotiation and compromise are also identified. In a climate of moves towards mass higher education where written and distant assessment is likely to grow at the expense of face‐to‐face contact, the tendency of examiners, highlighted in this paper, to rely on interpretive and negotiated methods is not only inevitable but justified.     

How Many Regressions?

In this article the authors provide an analysis of exactly how many regression models exist for a given number of variables.     

Politics: The education effect

This article explores in some detail published research exploring the associations between aspects of education (knowledge and skill acquisition, attitude formation, credential acquisition, participation in networks and institutions) and political outcomes such as participation, partisan choice and political identity. Correlated effects models, direct effects models, and relative effects models are considered in turn. Particular attention is paid to the relative effects of network position. Some notable gaps in the research literature are identified, notably regarding citizens' understanding of the nature of political processes.