Factor analysis of the metropolitan readiness test on first-grade children

The factor composition of the Metropolitan Readiness Test was investigated, using 1st-grade subjects in a suburban school district. In this analysis, a total battery score was supported, as well as a second factor believed to represent a language dimension of the test. None of the MRT's other content areas (auditory, visual, or quantitative abilities) or a distinct prereading measure were identified for this sample.     

The Portland Problem Behavior Checklist

The Portland Problem Behavior Checklist (PPBC) is described for aiding school personnel in identifying problem behaviors of students. Test reliability and validity data are reported. The PPBC appears to offer a quick format useful for clinical referrals, assessment, and initial evaluation.     

Suggestions for the delivery of psychological services in secondary schools

The present paper describes the past, current, and suggested future practices in the delivery of school psychological services at the high school level. Because high schools differ from elementary and middle schools (i.e., organizational structure, student characteristics and needs, etc.), school psychologists need to use different approaches in the delivery of services at the secondary level. It is proposed that school psychologists must become integrated into the total social system of the high school to be most effective. Methods for accomplishing this objective, including collaboration with other school personnel and utilization of community resources, are discussed.     

A longitudinal comparison of the WISC and WISC-R with special education pupils

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of comparability between the WISC and the WISC-R over time. Hypotheses were tested using a sample of 276 mildly mentally handicapped children enrolled in special education classes who had received a WISC (Trial 1) and a WISC or WISC-R (Trial 2) after an interval of approximately three years. The sample was grouped on the basis of test administered in Trial 2. Group I contained those children who received the WISC on Trial 2 and included 183 children, of whom 121 were males and 62 were females. Mean age at time of initial testing was 8–10; mean age at second testing was 11–8. Group II was composed of 93 children who had been posttested on the WISC-R and included 72 males and 21 females. Mean age at initial testing was 9–5; mean age at posttest was 13–0. The study was conducted in five school districts and one county department of education. Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, and Full Scale IQ for both instruments administered were transcribed from the special education folders of the children. The design used to test hypotheses was repeated measures analysis of variance. Data analysis resulted in rejection of the hypotheses that the WISC-R yields mean Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores greater than or equal to the corresponding mean IQ scores of the WISC. It was concluded that the WISC-R may unfairly penalize special education children who are reevaluated with this instrument. Fluctuations in IQ scores due to the instrument of measurement must be recognized, and appropriate action should be taken to insure that children are evaluated for special class placement on comparable bases.     

Can public arts education replace arts subsidization?

The debate about whether the arts should be supported or not is far from new, and most governments support the arts in one way or the other. The literature considers several arguments in favor of such interventions. Public education may seem to be an action which could, in the long run, lead to possible reductions of subsidies. Surveys show that those who have been exposed to the arts when young participate more when adult. However, the “non-market” transmission from parents to children generates an external effect, which has to be taken into account to reach first-best situations. We construct an overlapping generations model in which young consumers are exposed to both public education toward the arts and to non-altruistic transmission of such a taste from their parents. We show that the first-best can be reached only if there is both public cultural education and subsidization of arts consumption. Therefore, education cannot be considered as a substitute for subsidies to arts consumption. However, as is often the case in European countries, government intervention is usually below the first-best level. Using a model calibrated on French data, we show that it is then preferable to subsidize education, while consumption, especially of the older generations, should be taxed rather than subsidized.