Sorting Second-Grade Students: Differentiating Those Retained From Those Promoted.

A cohort of 2nd-grade students provided comparisons of academic and social competence based on school retention/promotion decisions. Sample groups were (a) retained, (b) at risk for retention, (c) special education, and (d) promoted. Findings suggested most children with academic deficiencies are identified by schools early and are sorted into educational treatments differing in intensity that represent a continuum of competence. The authors provide empirical evidence counter to the assumptions that retained students have the requisite ability to catch up and have more problem behaviors than other low-achieving students. The relevance of high-stakes test scores for promotion/retention decisions and the parallels between schools' implementation of retention policy and implementation of regulations for identifying children with disabilities are included in the discussion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does expert psychological testimony inform or influence juror decision making? A social cognitive analysis.

The authors examined whether expert testimony serves an educational or a persuasive function. Participants watched a simulated sexual abuse trial in which the child witness had been prepared for her testimony (i.e., she was calm, composed, and confident) or unprepared (i.e., emotional, confused, and uncertain). The trial contained different levels of expert testimony: none, standard (i.e., a summary of the research), repetitive (i.e., standard testimony plus a 2nd summary of the research), or concrete (i.e., standard testimony plus a hypothetical scenario linking the research to the case facts) testimony. Repetitive testimony bolstered the child's testimony, whereas concrete and standard testimony did not. Concrete testimony sensitized jurors to behavioral correlates of sexual victimization; standard and repetitive testimony desensitized jurors to these correlates. Implications for the use of procedural innovations in sexual abuse trials are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Drawing behaviour of metal–composite sandwich structures

The drawing behaviour of metal–composite sandwich structures is investigated as a function of the constituent material properties and the process variables of blank preheat temperature and blank-holder force. Materials include three grades of aluminium alloy as the skin layer material and two types of reinforced polypropylene composite as the core layer material. Blank-holder force has a significant effect on the failure mode of the metal–composite system with lower forces resulting in wrinkling as the dominate mode and higher forces resulting in splitting and fracture. Increasing preheat temperature decreases the failure in the composite core however it will increase the severity of wrinkling in the outer flange and sidewall.     

Relative efficacy of reciprocal and nonreciprocal peer tutoring for students at-risk for academic failure.

This study directly compared the academic gains of reciprocal peer tutoring, nonreciprocal peer tutoring, and a waiting-list control group. Participants included 59 elementary students from second-, third-, and fourth-grade classrooms who performed below average on curriculum-based measurement (CBM) math probes. Students involved in peer tutoring were trained to tutor basic math facts using a constant time delay procedure. Results indicated that the two types of peer tutoring produced comparable gains in basic math facts. Furthermore, both types of peer tutoring produced substantially larger academic gains than the waiting-list control group, demonstrating at-risk students can successfully tutor each other. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Misguided assumptions of DSM-III-R: Implications for school psychological practice.

Reviewed and critiqued the relevance of the DSM-III-R for school psychological practice. Five misguided assumptions on which the use of the DSM-III-R system is based are presented. These assumptions deal with (1) medical model conceptualization of behavior, (2) reliability, (3) validity, (4) relevance for special education placement, and (5) treatment validity. Based on a critical analysis of each assumption, it was concluded that the DSM-III-R is largely irrelevant for the practice of school psychology. The absence of treatment validity was judged to be the most substantial deficit of the DSM-III-R. An alternative classification system based on a functional analysis of behavior was proposed as being more relevant for assessment, classification, placement, and intervention with students who are behaviorally disordered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning disabilities, low achievement, and mild mental retardation: more alike than different?

Children identified with learning disabilities (LD), low achievement (LA), or mild mental retardation (MMR) were contrasted on 41 measures of ability, academic achievement, social skills, problem behavior, academic engaged time, perceptual-motor skills, and school history. Both multivariate, univariate, and meta-analytic comparisons among the three groups showed relatively large differences on measures of aptitude and achievement, with the LD group scoring higher on measures of cognitive ability than the LA and MMR groups and the LA group showing higher tested academic achievement than the LD and MMR groups. Teacher ratings of academic competence showed similar levels of functioning for the LD and LA groups. No differences among the groups were found on measures of social skills, problem behaviors, or academic engaged time, or on most indices reflecting school history. Results were interpreted in light of studies contrasting LD and LA groups. Comparisons with earlier studies were difficult in light of demographic differences in samples and the lower cognitive and academic functioning of children in the present study. The current study showed that 61% of the LD group could be differentiated from the LA group, with LD-MMR and LA-MMR differentiation levels being 68.5% and 67.5%, respectively.     

A multiple-sequence variant of the multiple-baseline design: A strategy for analysis of sequence effects and treatment comparison.

The design logic and potential uses of a variant of the multiple-baseline design that implements multiple treatment sequences is described. The multiple-baseline multiple-sequence (MBL-MS) consists of 2 or more multiple-baseline designs that are interlaced with one another and include all possible sequences of the treatments. The counterbalanced sequencing of treatments permits observation of any sequence effects that are present. This sequencing can permit identification of an optimal treatment sequence and comparison of relative efficacy of treatments. This variation of the multiple baseline also extends the available treatment comparison designs by providing an additional design that does not require reversal or treatment or sequence effects. Because of vulnerability to ceiling and floor effects, the MBL-MS design appears to be primarily useful for the comparison of treatments that take several sessions to produce an optimal level of responding or when the behavior is not subject to floor or ceiling effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Read-noise characterization of focal plane array detectors via mean-variance analysis

Mean-variance analysis is described as a method for characterization of the read-noise and gain of focal plane array (FPA) detectors, including charge-coupled devices (CCDs), charge-injection devices (CIDs), and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) multiplexers (infrared arrays). Practical FPA detector characterization is outlined. The nondestructive readout capability available in some CIDs and FPA devices is discussed as a means for signal-to-noise ratio improvement. Derivations of the equations are fully presented to unify understanding of this method by the spectroscopic community.     

Cross-informant agreement for ratings for social skill and problem behavior ratings: An investigation of the Social Skills Improvement System—Rating Scales.

One of the most consistent findings in rating scale research with children and adolescents is the modest agreement among different informants’ ratings. The present study systematically explored patterns of agreement among teachers, parents/caregivers, and students in domains of social skills and problem behaviors using the Social Skills Improvement System—Rating Scales (SSIS–RS; F. M. Gresham & S. N. Elliott, 2008). Two subsamples from the normative sample of the SSIS–RS were used. The first sample of participants consisted of 168 students who had all 3 informants (parent, teacher, and self) complete the SSIS–RS scales, which was necessary to assess agreement across different raters. The second sample consisted of 164 students who had raters in a similar or same role (father–mother, teacher–teacher). The results replicated an extensive literature showing that cross-informant agreements for social skills and problem behaviors are weak to moderate. The current study invoked multitrait–multimethod logic to interpret the correlations among raters derived from different informants and showed that the convergent validity coefficients were consistently stronger than the discriminant validity correlations. Implications for assessment practices and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social validation: A unifying concept for school-based consultation research and practice.

Argues for a unifying concept for consultation research and practice based on the principle of social validity. Social validity refers to the assessment of the social significance of goals of intervention procedures, the social acceptability of interventions to attain those goals, and the evaluation of the social importance of the effects produced by those intervention procedures. Social validity deals with 3 fundamental, but highly complex questions faced by school psychologists in their practice of consultation each day: What should be changed, how should it be changed, and how does one know if it was effective? These issues are discussed and specific recommendations are made for the consideration of social validity in the assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation of consultation-based interventions in the schools. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)