Proportion and direction of teacher rating changes of pupils' progress attributable to standardized test information.

Investigated the magnitude and direction of the effect of standardized test information on teachers' ratings of 1,566 pupils. 47 Irish 2nd-grade teachers were randomly divided into 3 groups: no testing, testing with no return of test results, and testing with return of pupil test performance. Ss rated their pupils' class position in mathematics and English reading early in the school year. The Drumcondra Achievement Test Series was administered subsequently, and results returned to Ss in January/February. Ss rerated all pupils in May. Ss receiving test results shifted more student ratings than teachers not receiving test results. Shifts tended to be positive and for fewer than 10% of the students. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between home environment and scholastic behavior in a disadvantaged population.

Examined relationships between home environmental factors and measures of scholastic ability and attainment for 60 8–9 yr olds living in a disadvantaged area. Six measures of home environmental process variables were obtained for each S. Six measures of scholastic behavior were also obtained; these were derived from the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Culture Fair Intelligence Test (Scale 1), Marino Graded Word Reading Scale, Irish Word Recognition Test, and Schonell Mechanical Arithmetic Test (Form B). In a series of multiple regression analyses, each measure of scholastic behavior was regressed on the 6 home measures. Results indicate that home variables were most successful in predicting attainment test scores, somewhat less successful in predicting "culture-dependent" (crystallized) intelligence test scores, and least successful in predicting "culture-fair" (fluid) intelligence test scores. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)