Validity of self-reported reading disability by parents of reading-disabled and control children

Composite reading scores obtained from parents of 125 reading-disabled children and 125 matched control children who participated in the Colorado Family Reading Study were used to test the validity of self-reported reading problems. Parents who reported that they encountered serious difficulty learning to read had significantly lower reading scores than did those who reported no positive history of reading problems. Moreover, this difference was larger for parents of reading-disabled children than for those of controls. Thus, parental self-reports provide a valid index of reading problems.     

COURSE PLANNING AND TESTING DECISIONS IN CRITERION‐REFERENCED SITUATIONS

Norm‐referenced measurement tools — such as reliability, validity, and item analysis — are commonly used to reach and verify conclusions about criteria. Similar tools for criterion‐referenced testing situations are scant. This study examined faculty planning and testing decisions and applied formulas to arrive at numerical indices that serve as analytical tools for use with criterion‐referenced tests. The research documents the effects of applying the concept of platform unity, which has its roots in curriculum alignment theory. Alignment of curriculum occurs if the planned, the delivered, and the tested curricula are congruent. Specifically, platform unity aligns planned, domain‐referenced content with appropriate test types. Mathematical formulas were created to determine numerically if planned and tested content were congruent. In addition, four other constructs were examined. They included effectiveness and efficiency of test‐item type selection and overtesting and undertesting of course content. A chi‐square goodness‐of‐fit test was used to compare faculty planning and testing decisions. Data indicated significant differences (p < .01) between content plans and the test types used to test content. On the basis of the analysis, it was determined that faculty do not plan and test content congruently across three levels of cognitive content. Also, faculty tended to overtest content; they were effective in their selection of test types, but not efficient.     

The decision to enter higher education: The case of polytechnic sociology students

This paper examines the decision to enter higher education by students who entered British polytechnic degree courses in sociology/social studies. It is concerned with the extent to which occupational considerations affect the decision to enter and with relating these findings to theories of occupational choice. The paper commences with an examination of three models of occupational choice and summarises the findings of studies that have focused on the entry into higher education and occupational decision-making. The results of our own study, based on questionnaire and interview data, indicate that occupational considerations are of limited importance in the decision to enter sociology/social studies courses at polytechnics. Rather our data favours a model emphasizing the role of socio-cultural background of home and school creating expectations for higher education. Data on past decisions which affect educational careers indicated that entry into higher education was seen in terms of an automatic process rather than a conscious decision made for particular goals. In our population there was, however, a small vocationally oriented group who differed from other students, in which females and those under 18 years of age were over-represented, and who were predominantly from two colleges which offered vocational training in their courses. Our results, we conclude, lend support to a fortuitous model of occupational choice in respect of the decision to enter higher education. Expectations derived from socio-cultural backgrounds of the students were more important in determining entry than conscious occupational goals.The research on which the paper is based is located in the Department of Social Science, Polytechnic of the South Bank, and supported by the Social Science Research Council.Work on this project has also been carried out by Dr I. C. Cannon and Ms. A. Scambler. An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the Standing Conference of The Sociology of Further Education, London, June 1975.     

Motivation across domains: Do goals and attributions change with subject matter for Grades 4 and 5 students?

This study explored a theory for motivation which included aspects of both attribution theory and goal theory. Motivational variables included beliefs about intelligence (entity or incremental), goal orientation (mastery/learning, performance-approach, performance-avoidance) and avoidant behaviours. Grades 4 and 5 students from a large, metropolitan school district were surveyed regarding these motivational variables across the academic domains of reading and mathematics. The relationships among these motivational variables were explored, as well as differences across domains. A diverse sample allowed differences across ethnic groups and socioeconomic status to be studied. Results indicate that children could have a generalised notion of motivation that becomes differentiated when students are asked to reflect on these variables within specified domains. The existence of few differences across ethnic and socioeconomic groups suggest that instructional style could be a more powerful influence than either of these variables.     

Comparison of Hydrostatic Weighing at Residual Volume and Total Lung Capacity in Children

Abstract

The influence of perceptions of the motivational climate and perceived ability on situational motivation and the physical activity behavior of 213 male and 229 female adolescent physical education students (M age= 12.56 years; SD = 0.96) was examined over a 3-day period. A significant age by gender interaction emerged, with physical activity declining from the sixth to eighth grade. The decline was more pronounced among female than male students. Perceptions of a mastery climate were strongly related to more self-determined forms of situational motivation. In contrast, perceptions of a performance climate were strongly related to less self-determined forms of situational motivation. Results of a hierarchical regression analysis revealed gender, perceived ability, and perceptions of a mastery climate to explain a significant amount of variance in physical activity. These findings suggest that promoting a mastery oriented motivational climate in physical education will foster self-determined situational motivation and physical activity.     

The Effects of a Group Contingency Strategy on Behaviorally Disordered Students in Physical Education

Abstract

An A-B-A-B time-series design was used to determine the effectiveness of a group contingency strategy in modifying on-task behavior of behaviorally disordered students in a physical education setting. A younger group (n = 12) with a mean age of 7.8 years, and an older group (n = 11) with a mean age of 11.2 years, participated in a study in which activity reinforcement for each group was contingent upon correct observation of the rules established for class. The group contingency strategy was significantly effective in increasing the percentage of on-task behavior of both groups of students. In addition, there was no significant difference in the response to treatment between younger and older students, and there were no individuals within either group who did not respond favorably to treatment.     

Including students’ diverse perspectives on classroom interactions into video-based professional development for teachers

Video is often used in professional development courses to sensitize mathematics teachers to students’ thinking and issues of classroom interaction. This article presents an approach that incorporates students’ perspectives on mathematics classroom interactions into video-based professional development in order to enhance teachers’ reflection on diverse awareness of students concerning demands within mathematics classroom interactions. This approach is theoretically justified by the empirical research on equal participation in classroom interaction and practically elaborated by video material from Grade 5 students. Empirical snapshots from design experiments with teachers demonstrate that teachers’ sensitivity can be enhanced.     

EXISTING STATUS OF BUILDING COMMUNITIES’ RECOMMENDATIONS: A DEAN AND DIVISION CHAIRPERSON COMPARISON

The purpose of this study was to assess the existing status of Building Communities’ recommendations. The recommendations were transformed and written as goal statements. Fifty‐nine deans and 98 division chairpersons were asked whether these goals had been implemented. Fifty‐three deans and 84 chairpeople returned usable questionnaires.

Chi‐square tests of independence (p < .05) were used to compare deans’ and chairpersons’ responses on existing goal status. Deans and chairpeople agree on the existing status of 32 of the 38 goal statements and share the same beliefs on the existing status of a vast majority of the goal statements.

Significant differences were identified, however, between deans and chairpeople regarding the existing status of (1) outreaching to disadvantaged students, (2) outreach‐ing to different adult populations, (3) renewing faculty, (4) ensuring that full‐time faculty teach the majority of credit‐bearing courses, (5) using computer technology to integrate educational and administrative applications, and (6) placing ill‐prepared students in developmental education programs. Deans were more likely than chairpeople to view the six goals that lacked agreement as having been implemented.     

Cluster analytic classification of reading disability subtypes

Cluster analysis was employed to identify subtypes of reading disability in a sample of 140 reading-disabled children using factor scores obtained from a battery of psychometric tests. Preliminary results suggested the existence of three subtypes, but closer scrutiny of the data indicated that individual differences are more accurately characterized by continuity in the measurement space. This result demonstrates the need for detailed validation of findings from applications of cluster analysis. Despite the absence of homogeneous subtypes, the characterization of individual strengths and weaknesses on psychometric measures may nonetheless be important for diagnosis and remediation in the educational setting.Behavioral Research Institute