THE INFLUENCE OF VARIABLES OTHER THAN KNOWLEDGE ON PROBABILISTIC TESTS

In probabilistic test and scoring systems the examinee is required to respond to each of the options of a multiple-choice test with a probability which represents the confidence he has in that option. It seems reasonable to assume that for such tests to yield valid information about the examinees, the knowledge they have should be the primary influence on the probabilities they assign. The purpose of this study was to seek the relationship between the degree to which examinees display certainty in their responses and certain personality variables. Proponents of probabilistic testing would expect such correlations to be low. In this stud), it was found that individuals do respond to multiple-choice questions with a characteristic certainty that cannot be accounted for on the basis of their knowledge. This certainty was related to scores of both the F Scale and the Kogan and Wallach risk taking measure.     

The Importance of Being Thorough: On Systematic Accumulations of ‘What Works’ in Education Research

This article outlines and appraises the considerable criticism of educational research, both in the United Kingdom and in North America, and shows how it has pointed to a narrowing of what counts as good or worthwhile research in the policy discourse. In particular, this involved prioritising research that purports to show clearly and unmistakably ‘what works’, and institutionalising this view of research in a range of centres that receive official approval. The article, though recognising the fruit of such centres, challenges the epistemological basis of such a narrowing of what counts as research, and, in doing so, analyses what is meant by evidence, the different kinds and strengths of evidence and the consequent need to democratise the search and appraisal of evidence in the constant refinement and criticism of the evidence.     

The Relationship Between In-Session Significant Events and Session Outcome for Prepracticum Counselor Trainees and Their Volunteer Clients

The relationship between the number of task, interpersonal, and hindering events and session outcome was examined for prepracticum trainees. Implications for counselor training are discussed.     

Storying the News through Category,Action, and Reason

From a sociolinguistic and discourse-analytic perspective, news stories have often been considered as operating within a similar structural framework to oral narratives (Labov, 1972 Labov, W. 1972. Language in the inner city, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.  [Google Scholar]), sharing formal elements with narratives produced in other contexts (although as Bell (1991) Bell, A. 1991. The language of news media, Oxford: Blackwell.  [Google Scholar] has demonstrated in relation to print news, these elements occur in temporal disorganization). In this paper, in line with other recent treatments of news stories, we suggest that news does not conform to this kind of “narrative” structure as such. Examining data taken from print and live-broadcast TV news through a Sacksian (1995) lens, we argue that it is possible to simplify the analysis of news structure by approaching the news as “stories,” where the story elements are organized around the notions of category, action, and reason rather than as a series of narrative clauses involving orientation, complicating actions, evaluation, and resolution (Bell, 1991 Bell, A. 1991. The language of news media, Oxford: Blackwell.  [Google Scholar]; van Dijk, 1988 Van Dijk, T. A. 1988. News as discourse, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.  [Google Scholar]).     

FACTOR ANALYSIS OF THE K–ABC FOR GROUPS OF ANGLO AND MEXICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN

Factor analyses of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K–ABC) were performed on separate groups of Anglo (n = 100) and Mexican American (n = 100) fifth-grade children to determine the comparability of underlying structures and to examine the existence of possible bias in construct validity of the K–ABC for each group. The subjects were selected from two contiguous school districts and stratified by grade, socioeconomic status (SES), and language status. A principal factor analysis produced two factors in the Mental Processing area and three factors in the total battery (Mental Processing plus Achievement areas) for the two groups. Examination of the coefficients of congruence indicated factorial similarity across four of five factors. Furthermore, the factors that emerged for the Anglo and Mexican American groups corresponded to the scales comprising the K–ABC. The results of the investigation provide some evidence for the construct validity of the K–ABC for the two ethnic groups. Further test bias research on the K–ABC is recommended.