School Psychology Commons^™

The Utilization Of Gender, Retention, Ses And Steep Scores To Predict Reading Mastery, Lisa Lee Adams

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between gender, retention, SES and STEEP scores to predict reading mastery. Second grade students’ records were reviewed to obtain demographic information. SAT 9 scores were used to measure students' reading mastery. SES was measured and defined by approved applications for free or reduced lunch for the 2004-2005 school year. Retention was defined as the number of students previously retained. Logistic regression was used to determine the predictive validity of gender, retention, SES and STEEP scores dependent on SAT 9 reading mastery. Gender, retention, SES and STEEP scores were entered as …

Gender Difference And Test Anxiety, Leann Chandler

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study compared male and female students in the 4th, 6th, and 10th grades to see which sex had more test anxiety. The students are from a rural town in Southeastern Ohio. A total of 85 students filled out the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. The students were given the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) two weeks prior to, one week prior to, and one week after the Ohio Fourth and Ohio Sixth Grade Proficiency Tests and the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT). The hypotheses of this study are that the 10th grade females will have greater test anxiety than …

A Comparison Of The Wj-Iii Test Of Cognitive Abilities And The Wais-Iii, Brittany Leigh Metz

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Since the birth of the intelligence test in the early 20th century, these instruments have gone through tremendous alterations. The revision of such instruments creates an obligation of those who utilize these tests to provide empirical evidence that supports concurrent validity with additional cognitive measures. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Cognitive Abilities, Third Edition and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test, Third Edition. Both instruments were administered to 30 college students attending a Midwest university. The previously collected data was analyzed using a Pearson Product Moment Correlation as well as a …

The Correlation Between Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Iii And Woodcock-Johnson Iii Cognitive Abilities And Wj Iii Achievement For College Students: Which Is A Better Predictor Of Reading Achievement?, Carrie M. Adkins

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The present study is intended to examine whether the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale III or Woodcock-Johnson III Cognitive Abilities would better predict reading achievement on the WJ III Achievement in the college student population. Participants included 29 college students attending a university in the Midwest, being evaluated for a learning disability or academic accommodations. Data were analyzed using Pearson r correlation, Fisher z, and t-test for each intelligence test in comparison to achievement subtests. Results from this study indicated that both IQ scores obtained from the WAISIII and the WJ-III COG correlated with reading significantly, but not highly enough to …

The Testing Effect: Using Retrieval Practice In The Classroom, Karen S. Clifton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Repeated testing was applied in a college classroom setting to determine whether a single intervening test, which allowed for retrieval practice, would improve performance on a final test compared to a single structured rehearsal of the material. Performance was measured using multiple-choice exams and relatedness rating tests. The findings suggest that a test condition which requires retrieval, when compared to a read-only condition, improves performance on a final test of item-specific knowledge but not on a test of relational knowledge of the same material. The difficulty of retrieval was manipulated using hard and easy questions on the intervening test and …

Measuring Student Well-Being In The Context Of Australian Schooling : Discussion Paper, Julian Fraillon

Wellbeing

This report was commissioned by the South Australian Department of Education and Children's Services as an agent of the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). The report constitutes Phase 1 of a planned two phase process. Specifically this report defines a measurement construct for student well-being; outlines a methodology for measuring student well-being; and provides recommendations for ongoing work in the measuring, reporting and monitoring of student well-being (Phase 2).

Predicting Dyslexia With Screening To Enhance Equitable Placement (Steep), Erica N. Stoler

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to predict whether students who achieved the mastery/instructional level in math and the frustrational level in reading with Screening to Enhance Equitable Placement (STEEP) were identified as being good candidates for a positive dyslexic evaluation based on the Dyslexia Screening Tool (DST). Twenty-eight students in first through fifth grades from a rural elementary school in Southeast Ohio were selected based on the results of their initial STEEP screening and those selected students were administered the Dyslexia Screening Tool (DST). Results indicated that there was not a significant relationship between the selected STEEP results and …

A Comparison Of Traditional Versus Computerized Anxiety Assessment Using Personal Digital Assistants, Wesley Alan Smith

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The usage of the personal computer has become more prevalent in the field of psychology. The advent of the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) has opened a new area of possible clinical application. These pen-based devices allow for a more natural interface and more mobility. The feasibility and application of the PDA for personality assessment will be examined in this study. Does having a test administered by a PDA lead to a significant change in response patterns compared to a test administered by the traditional pen and paper method? The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the anxiety …

The Utility Of Dibels As A Curriculum Based Measurement In Relation To Reading Proficiency On High Stakes Tests, Rebecca Gayle Cook

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills or DIBELS reading measures and the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition or SAT9 reading scores. The following research question was examined: What is the concurrent validity of the DIBELS reading measures in relation to students’ SAT9 reading scores? In this study, archival data from five firstgrade classrooms at a rural southeastern Ohio elementary school were collected. The results of the study indicated that there was a positive and significant correlation between DIBELS measures and SAT9 scores with the exception of …

Evaluation Of The School Psychology Program At Marshall University Graduate College, Mary L. Winters

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This research evaluates the structure, purpose, and efficiency of the School Psychology Program at Marshall University Graduate College and will be utilized as baseline research for further measures of program efficiency and accountability. This study investigates the satisfaction levels and opinions of the student population, including all current and recent students who have graduated from the program. The methods of data collection were a survey, developed primarily from the goals and objectives of the program, and telephone interviews. The information requested in these methods was structured to provide both qualitative and quantitative data. Frequency analysis of the data resulted in …

New Teachers’ Perceptions Of Discipline-Related School Problems And Teacher Satisfaction, Amy L. Kavanaugh

Dissertations

Satisfaction The public is concerned with school safety because of recent school shootings resulting in multiple deaths. Educators are concerned that perceptions of school safety may affect new teacher attrition.

Three questions were examined in this study: (1) What is the trend of new teachers’ perceptions of discipline-related school problems? (2) Do new teachers’ perceptions of school problems vary by teacher gender, school level, size, location, and percentage of minority students?, and (3) Are new teachers’ perceptions of school problems related to their professional satisfaction?

National data gathered by the National Center for Education Statistics through the Schools and Staffing …

Ratings Of Assessment Procedures By Learning Disabilities Teachers And School Psychologists, Raquel A. Williams

Masters Theses

This study surveyed the perceptions of school psychologists and learning disabilities teachers (LD teachers) on the frequency of use and usefulness of the following assessment procedures: Standardized tests, curriculum based measures (CBMs), classroom observations, interview with general education teachers, and analysis of class assignments for initial placement of a child, instructional planning, and evaluation of student progress. Further, this study investigated how proficient the two groups felt in administering each of the five assessment procedures. Fifty four school psychologists and 32 LD teachers completed the questionnaire. Results indicated that school psychologists and LD teachers agreed on the frequency of use …

Principals', Guidance Directors', And Department Chairs' Perceptions Of Goals And Effectiveness Of The Trimester Schedules In Indiana High Schools, Robert E. Brower

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to compare high school principals', guidance directors', and department chairs' perceptions of agreement (as clustered from 33 literature-based goals into school benefit, teacher benefit, and student benefit) of a trimester schedule. Secondly, this dissertation compared high school principals', guidance directors', and department chairs' perceptions of agreement (as clustered from 33 literature-based goals into school benefit, teacher benefit, and student benefit) as to whether these 3 3 goals were achieved after one year on a trimester schedule. This study is based on 10 Indiana high schools that were on the trimester schedule for a minimum …

The Use Of Curriculum-Based Measurement To Evaluate The Effects Of A Remedial Education Program, Michael D. Hixson

Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of two Direct Instruction programs: Corrective Reading: Decoding and Connecting Math Concepts. The effectiveness of the interventions was evaluated using a single-subject experimental design with curriculumbased measurement (CBM) probes as the main means of assessment. Other methods of assessment included standardized achievement tests, school reports, and pre- and postcurriculum- based assessment probes. The CBM probes for all students were sensitive to the effects of the interventions, although there was a great deal of variability in the CBM reading probes and little correspondence across methods of assessment. The results indicate that the two Direct Instruction programs …

Grade Equivalents: Accuracy And Certainty Of Interpretations Among Parents, Teachers, And School Psychologists, Eric R. Smith

Masters Theses

Scores on standardized tests (e.g., Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III, Wechsler Individual Achievement Test) can be represented by a number of different metrics. One of the ways scores can be represented is with grade equivalents, which tend to be popular with parents and teachers because they seem to be fairly easy to understand. However, several researchers have claimed that grade equivalents are often misinterpreted. Standard scores are viewed by many researchers as the superior type of derived score. However, standardized scores can be difficult to understand, particularly for individuals with little or no training …

An Investigation Of The Construct Validity Of The Children's Skills Test, Cynthia D. L. Ladd

Masters Theses

The Children's Skills Test (CST) is an aptitude and achievement test for children in grades Kindergarten through Nine, developed from the American School Psycho-Educational Assessment Battery (ASPAB). It is designed for home administration via the computer, and no examiner is present. At this time, no technical information has been released regarding the CST, nor has any research been published.

The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) is a brief measure of general intelligence with sound technical properties. It is administered by an examiner. The K-BIT has been correlated with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III), the most commonly …

Using Bibliotherapy With Selected Developmental Concerns Of Middle School Youth, Dianne Keeling

All Graduate Projects

This project investigated literature related to the developmental concerns of middle school youth and the use of bibliotherapy. The purpose of this investigation was to gain a theoretical understanding of these developmental concerns and the related use of bibliotherapy as well as to discover instructional strategies for the use of bibliotherapy in the middle school classroom. The product of this investigation is a resource guide for the use of bibliotherapy with selected developmental concerns of middle school youth. A review of selected literature revealed that some developmental concerns of students at this age are adolescent changes, anger, drug/alcohol abuse, violence …

Referral Biases In The Schools, Camela P. Hayes

Masters Theses

Biases influencing teachers' referral decisions for special education services were examined. Specific biases identified and addressed pertained to students' type of problem behavior, gender and socio-economic status (SES). Subjects included 120 regular elementary school teachers from the western Chicagoland area. A total of 8 vignettes describing a child with varying behavior difficulties, gender and SES, along with 2 questionnaires were utilized. An Analysis of Variance revealed that teachers are less tolerant of students who are disruptive and are more apt to refer them than students with emotional difficulties less overt in their manifestation. The effects of SES on referral decisions …

Critical Decision Making Skills Of Postgraduate Respiratory Care Personnel, Leisa Kay Bowden

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The researcher of the study became interested in critical decision making skills while working with Respiratory Care post graduates. The researcher of the study noticed through observation a deficiency in critical thinking skills, reasoning abilities and decision making skills of recent post graduate Respiratory personnel. These weaknesses impacted a deterioration in interdepartmental communications and most importantly a deterioration in the quality of patient care. The problem of this study is to determine the effects of critical decision making skills in the College of West Virginia’s 1995 Respiratory Care class as compared to the College of West Virginia’s 1994 Respiratory Care …

Impact Of "Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder" On Educational Placement And Service Delivery, Marsha L. Groves

Masters Theses

Children with "Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder" face many changes within the school environment. Teachers strive to help these students meet those changes by providing for special learning and behavior needs. This study obtained teacher responses to examine demographic data, disability categories, placement, and educational treatment of children clinically diagnosed and/or suspected of having "Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorders". Of the 76 teacher surveys returned, 107 students were reported to have or were suspected of having "Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder". Forty-five were identified as learning disabled, seven were considered behavior disordered, seven were receiving speech services, seven others were health impaired, three …

Achievement Assessment Techniques: Their Frequency Of Use, Perceived Importance, And Relation To Job Satisfaction, Robin L. Chesnut

Masters Theses

A random sample of Nationally Certified School psychologists was surveyed to determine the current academic achievement assessment practices of school psychologists. Frequency of administration and importance of standardized achievement tests, interviews, observations and work sample collection was determined. Further, knowledge of, experience with, and future plans to develop skills in alternative achievement assessment areas was examined. Job satisfaction was investigated and its relationship to involvement with alternative assessment measures. Results indicate that assessment activities still consume about half (45%) of school psychologists' time followed by consultation (22%), and treatment (18%). Informal assessment techniques such as child, teacher, and parent interviews; …

Gender Differences In Cognitive Ability Of Children With Hearing Impairment On The Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children-3rd Edition, Damian D. Jones

Masters Theses

This research thesis investigates possible gender differences of deaf children on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (3rd ed.). The Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD) in Jacksonville, Illinois collated the standard scores of the five standard WISC-III Performance scale subtests and the Performance IQ of 25 students attending ISD. To examine gender differences on the Performance scale subtests and the Performance IQ's, a series of oneway-analyses of variance was calculated. No significant differences were noted on any comparison. A hypothesis that gender differences would occur was not confirmed. The results are discussed with respect to the intellectual assessment of …

Prediction Of Wisc-Iii Scores From The Iowa Tests Of Basic Skills And The Cognitive Abilities Test In Order To Predict Premorbid Cognitive Functioning In Children With Traumatic Brain Injury, Kent A. Riley

Masters Theses

The present study examined the relationship of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Form J (ITBS-J) and the Cognitive Abilities Test, Form 4 (CogAT-4) with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III) in order to establish a better method for predicting premorbid intellectual functioning in children with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) aged 6 through 11 years. The subjects included 73 children in grades one through six from four elementary schools within a rural city in southeastern Illinois. The results of the study supported all six hypotheses: The CogAT-4 and ITBS-J significantly predicted the variability observed in WISC-III scores; …

The Test-Retest And Inter-Rater Reliability Of The Teacher Rating Of Academic Achievement Motivation, Rachel P. Pitcher

Masters Theses

The Teacher Rating of Academic Achievement Motivation (TRAAM) is in development as a measure of academic achievement motivation. To examine the scale's test-retest and inter-rater reliability, teachers rated 90 third through sixth grade students. Results indicated that the TRAAM, in general, is reliable. The test-retest reliability coefficient for the TRAAM Total Score was .96. The four factor scores of the TRAAM were also found to be consistent over time with reliability coefficients ranging from .85 to .93. Inter-rater reliability of the TRAAM was also found to be adequate for the Total Score (r=.77). The inter-rater reliability coefficients of the factor …

The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale : 4th Edition As A Predictor Of Reading Achievement, Deborah A. Houck

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study Investigated the validity of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition as a predictor of reading achievement. Forty non-referred rural children, ages 8 through 12, were Identified as good or poor readers, and were administered the complete Binet IV battery. Using the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills as a criterion measure, correlations and stepwise regressions were derived for the Binet IV Composite, Area, and subtest scores for the total sample and each group. The results indicated a strong correlation between Binet IV Composite SAS and reading achievement for the sample studied. Also, Verbal Reasoning and Short-term Memory SAS yielded …

Effects Of Two Instructional Sets On The Validity Of The Kaufman Assessment Battery For Children -- Non-Verbal Scale With A Group Of Severely Hearing Impaired Children, Larry James Porter

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate the applicability and appropriateness of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC)--Non-Verbal Scale for assessing intellectual functioning in severely hearing impaired children. The Non-verbal K-ABC was administered to 49 children ages 7 through 12 years enrolled at a public residential school for the deaf. Test instructions were given to one group of 24 employing American sign language (ASL), plus pantomime and gestures while the other group of 25 received pantomime and gesture (PG) instructions only. It was hypothesized that the ASL group would score significantly higher than the PG group. However, no …

Reaction To Social Pressure From Adults Versus Peers Among Mexican, Mexican-American, And Anglo-American Rural Children, Ana Maria C. Donini

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to investigate whether there was a significant difference in the adherence to conventional morality and the reaction to social pressure from adults versus peers among Mexican, Mexican-American, and Anglo-American children. The instrument used was the Moral Dilemmas Test (MDT) developed by Bronfenbrenner, Devereux, Suci, and Rodgers, which measures the reported readiness of children to engage in morally disapproved behavior and their reaction to social pressure exerted by adults and peers. The subjects were asked to respond to a series of conflict situations under three experimental conditions of confidentiality, scrutiny by parents, and scrutiny by …

"Project Dial": An Early Childhood Screening Program, Lewis S. Sarff

Masters Theses

This field study addressed the problem of "actively seeking" out and identifying children (ages 3 to 5 years) likely to develop late learning problems upon school enrollment. The procedures developed and reported in this paper deal with initial public relations, facilities, personnel, an evaluation instrument Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL), hearing and vision testing, and reporting of results to parents and school personnel.

The paper also includes means and standard deviations for DIAL subtest scores by one year age groups and by sex, as well as simple and multiple r's for each of the DIAL variables individually …

Assessing Some Side Effects Of A Contingency Management Program, Charles M. Atkinson

All Master's Theses

This study applied a contingency management program to a single behavior while measuring multiple behaviors. Reinforcement was made contingent upon increased addition rate. The experimental group made significantly greater gains in addition rate. There was no significant difference in the gains made in subtraction rate, reading rate, reading comprehension, or classroom behavior. The study was limited by a small sample, six week time span, and the use of mentally retarded subjects to assess side effects of reinforcing an academic behavior.

The Effect Of A Learning Skills Course Including Group Counseling On Low Achievers In The Community College, Paul E. Borg

All Master's Theses

A Learning Skills course consisting of study skills, goal direction, and self-understanding was tested among volunteer community college low achievers. Treatment integrated didactic, group discussion, and affective experiences in 18 hour-long sessions. Nineteen subjects received treatment; 25 subjects formed a matched control group; and 41 non-volunteers formed two additional control groups. An apparent trend toward GPA improvement was noted for all groups, but all measurements on GPA and a study survey were non-significant.