Various self-report test anxiety instruments were examined with attention given to their reliability and validity. Treatments directed toward test worry were more effective than treatments directed toward test emotionality. Self-reported test anxiety was found to decrease as a result of most treatment including pseudotherapy. (Author/CP)

Despite differences in origin and orientation, Piagetian theory and criterion referenced measurement share a general purpose--that of diagnosing human behavior. Beginning with a review of both perspectives, this paper illustrates their highly comparable natures and indicates how they could be used together to improve student evaluation. (Author/…

The most common criticism of advance organizers is that their definition and instructions for construction are vague. Ausubel's books and research articles offer a precise operational definition. Construction can only be described generally because it varies according to nature of learning material, age of learner, and learner's degree of…

The rationale for a constructivist approach to behavioral and social science research, and studies which have applied this methodology, are reviewed. The author suggests that ethnographic techniques of explaining behavior patterns may be as valuable as or more appropriate than traditional behavioral science methods. (GDC)

Organization theory emphasizes groupings of items on the basis of a variety of characteristics, and the role of the learner as an active processor or encoder of information. Research on organization theory as it is applied to memory and recall of prose is reviewed here. (BW)

Reviewing psychometric and statistical developments in criterion- referenced testing, this paper presents six sections: uses of criterion- referenced test scores, reliability of criterion-referenced test scores, determination of test length, determination of cut-off scores, test development and validation, and summary and suggestions for further…

Observer disagreement is important because it limits the reliabilities of observational measures. To avoid this limitation, observers should be trained, and criterion-related and intraobserver agreement measures should be used both before and during a study. Several agreement coefficients are examined for their applicability. (Author/BW)

Research on sibling influence on intellectual ability has shown that academic ability and achievement decrease as family size increases and as spacing between siblings decreases. Research also suggests a relationship between sex of subject and of sibling, and age differences in the effects of birth order and sibling sex. (JAC)

Feedback does not facilitate retention if it is highly available to the learner before he responds, or if the learner finds the material very difficult. Varying the amount of time passed between response and feedback--the Delay Retention Effect--is discussed. (MV)

Barnes and Clawson's presentation of Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning (Review of Educational Research, 45, 1975, pp. 637-59) is misleading, according to the author. He states that Ausubel's crucial point is not that organizers relate new knowledge to an existing cognitive structure, but that new learning materials can only be considered…

Differences between ethnographic, phenomenological, or qualitative research techniques are reviewed through an explanation of the rationale behind their use and discussion of some of the processes by which this type of research is conducted. While this article is focused on educational research, the discussion applies equally to social…

Dependability of class means is analyzed by applying generalizability to a split-plot design with students nested within classes. Basic generalizability concepts are reviewed, and the derivation and interpretation of distinct generalizability concepts are discussed. Four generalizability coefficients are compared with each other and with the three…

The review indicates that refined measures of the family environment and the use of complex statistical models increase the understanding of the relationships between socioeconomic status, sibling variables, family environment, and cognitive development. (RC)

Research from four subareas of prose learning (advance organizers, response modes, objectives, and inserted questions) is considered and weaknesses in the studies conducted are noted. Suggestions are advanced as to how researchers might profitably spend their energies in the future. (RC)

Evidence is gathered on the generalizability of measures of teacher behavior to help resolve the issue of whether the absence of clear, replicable relationships between teacher behavior and student outcomes was due to measurement problems or problems in conceptualization. Generalizability theory seemed particularly well suited but problems in…