How Children Understand Sarcasm: The Role of Context and Intonation

To recognize ironic sarcasm, adults may rely on either of 2 cues: the context in which the utterance is made, or the speaker's intonation. In 2 experiments comparing third graders (8–9 years old), sixth graders (11–12 years old), and adults, we investigated the development of children's ability to use these cues. In the first, children were able to recognize sarcasm when the speakers used sarcastic intonation but failed to do so without the intonation cue, even if the context strongly indicated a nonliteral interpretation. In the second experiment, subjects delivered dialogue with intonation they deemed appropriate—and justified their choices—based on contexts that either suggested sarcasm or not. Young children again appeared largely oblivious to contextually implied sarcasm. These results suggest that children initially depend more heavily on intonation than on context in recognizing sarcasm.     

Quality indicators for effective early intervention in literacy and numeracy

Recent research suggests that multi‐strand and interlinked interventions meet the requirements of early primary school intervention programmes more fully than single programmes. A set of quality indicators, which education authorities and schools can utilize to review and evaluate processes and outcomes of such interventions, is derived from the outcome of an evaluation of the implementation of an early intervention programme (EIP) in literacy and numeracy, involving 274 pupils, in three North Ayrshire primary schools. The implications for primary prevention of difficulties in literacy and numeracy are discussed.     

The effects of being a reader and of observing readers on fifth-grade students’ argumentative writing and revising

Opportunities to read and analyze others?? writing or to observe readers as they analyze writing might enhance one??s own sense of audience and improve one??s own writing. This mixed-methods study investigated whether reader and observer activities in comparison to writing practice activities affected fifth-grade students?? persuasive writing and revising. After writing a first draft of a persuasive letter, 87 fifth-grade students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: being a reader, observing readers, or practicing writing. The reader group read and discussed three persuasive letters, considering whether they were persuasive and why and selecting the most persuasive. The observer group listened to the reader group??s discussions and took notes; then they had their own discussion to generate a list of criteria for what made the letters persuasive. The practice-writing control group practiced writing persuasive letters. Afterwards, all groups revised their first drafts. The reader group produced second drafts that were of better quality and contained more evidence of audience awareness than the control group. The observer group did not differ from either group. The groups did not differ on a transfer task occurring 1-week later. The authors discuss implications for designing writing curriculums that utilize reader and observer activities.     

Measurement Issues in the Alignment of Standards and Assessments

Abstract

This study examined the impact of rater agreement on decisions concerning the alignment between the Golden State Examination in High School Mathematics (California Department of Education, 2001a Academic Senate of the California State University. 1997. Statement on competencies in mathematics expected of entering college students Sacramento, CA: Author.  [Google Scholar]) and the University of California (UC) Statement on Competencies in Mathematics Expected of Entering College Students (Academic Senate of the California State University, 1997 Academic Senate of the California State University. 1997. Statement on competencies in mathematics expected of entering college students Sacramento, CA: Author.  [Google Scholar]). The UC faculty and high school mathematics teachers (N = 20) rated the mathematics items of the Golden State Examination relative to the expectations identified in the UC competency statement, identifying item features related to content and dimensionality. Raters assigned values for a primary topic, a secondary topic, item/topic centrality, and depth of knowledge. Agreement within these criteria was the basis of the assessment of alignment. Results showed considerable variability in judgments across raters and different pictures of alignment depending on the particular subset of raters providing the ratings. A few differences emerged between rater types.     

Reaction Time Analysis of Programed Control of Short,Rapid Aiming Movements

Reaction time, fractionated reaction time (premotor and motor time), and movement time were recorded during performance of a rapid aiming movement (11 mm in amplitude) to a circular target. Independent variables were target diameter (2 or 64 mm) and reaction time condition (simple or choice). Fifty-two subjects performed 16 practice and 24 performance trials under one of four possible experimental combinations (13 subjects per combination) in a 2 × 2 design. Reaction time correlated highly with premotor time (r = .99) but not with motor time (r = .31). Choice reaction time and its premotor time component were dependent upon target diameter, but simple reaction time and its premotor time component were not. However, choice and simple motor time were not differentially affected by target diameter. As expected, movement time was longer for the small target than for the large target. Taken together, the reaction time results were interpreted as support for Klapp's (1975) hypothesis that increases in choice reaction time for rapid movements to a small target are due to increases in the time needed for programing the response.     

Child and Parenting Outcomes After 1 Year of Educare

Educare is a birth to age 5 early education program designed to reduce the achievement gap between children from low‐income families and their more economically advantaged peers through high‐quality center‐based programming and strong school–family partnerships. This study randomly assigned 239 children (< 19 months) from low‐income families to Educare or a business‐as‐usual control group. Assessments tracked children 1 year after randomization. Results revealed significant differences favoring treatment group children on auditory and expressive language skills, parent‐reported problem behaviors, and positive parent–child interactions. Effect sizes were in the modest to medium range. No effects were evident for observer‐rated child behaviors or parent‐rated social competence. The overall results add to the evidence that intervening early can set low‐income children on more positive developmental courses.