THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTS. By Oscar Kempthorne. New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1952. 631 pp. $8.50. This book by a teacher of statistics (as well as a consultant for \"experimenters\") is a comprehensive study of the philosophical background for the statistical design of experiment. It is necessary to have some facility with algebraic notation and manipulation to be able to use the volume intelligently. The problems are presented from the theoretical point of view, without such practical examples as would be helpful for those not acquainted with mathematics. The mathematical justification for the techniques is given. As a somewhat advanced treatment of the design and analysis of experiments, this volume will be interesting and helpful for many who approach statistics theoretically as well as practically. With emphasis on the \"why,\" and with description given broadly, the author relates the subject matter to the general theory of statistics and to the general problem of experimental inference. MARGARET J. ROBERTSON

The Design and Analysis of Experiments

Pedagosko i psiholosko testiranje i procjenjivanje spadaju među najvažnije doprinose znanosti o ponasanju nasem drustvu i pružaju temeljna i znacajna poboljsanja u odnosu na ranije postupke. Iako se ne može ustvrditi da su svi testovi dovoljno usavrseni niti da su sva testiranja razborita i korisna, postoji velika kolicina informacija koje ukazuju na ucinkovitost kvalitetnih instrumenata u onim situacijama u kojima je njihovo koristenje potkrijepljeno validacijskim podacima. Pravilna upotreba testova može dovesti do boljih odluka o pojedincima i programima nego sto bi to bio slucaj bez njihovog koristenja, a također i ukazati na put za siri i pravedniji pristup obrazovanju i zaposljavanju. Međutim, losa upotreba testova može dovesti do zamjetne stete nanesene ispitanicima i drugim sudionicima u procesu donosenja odluka na temelju testovnih podataka. Cilj Standarda je promoviranje kvalitetne i eticne upotrebe testova te uspostavljanje osnovice za ocjenu kvalitete postupaka testiranja. Svrha objavljivanja Standarda je uspostavljanje kriterija za evaluaciju testova, provedbe testiranja i posljedica upotrebe testova. Iako bi evaluacija prikladnosti testa ili njegove primjene trebala ovisiti prvenstveno o strucnim misljenjima, Standardi pružaju okvir koji osigurava obuhvacanje svih relevantnih pitanja. Bilo bi poželjno da svi autori, sponzori, nakladnici i korisnici profesionalnih testova usvoje Standarde te da poticu druge da ih također prihvate.

Standards for educational and psychological testing

For more than a century, there has been a growing interest in school climate. Recently, the U.S. Department of Education, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute for Educational Sciences, a growing number of State Departments of Education, foreign educational ministries, and UNICEF have focused on school climate reform as an evidence-based school improvement strategy that supports students, parents/guardians, and school personnel learning and working together to create ever safer, more supportive and engaging K–12 schools. This work presents an integrative review on school climate research. The 206 citations used in this review include experimental studies, correlational studies, literature reviews, and other descriptive studies. The review focuses on five essential dimensions of school climate: Safety, Relationships, Teaching and Learning, Institutional Environment, and the School Improvement Process. We conclude with a critique of the field and a series of recommendations for school climate...

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A Review of School Climate Research

Background/Context: Educators have written about and studied school climate for 100 years. School climate refers to the quality and character of school life. School climate is based on patterns of people’s experiences of school life and reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures. However, school climate is more than individual experience: It is a group phenomenon that is larger than any one person’s experience. A sustainable, positive school climate fosters youth development and learning necessary for a productive, contributive, and satisfying life in a democratic society. This climate includes norms, values, and expectations that support

School Climate: Research, Policy, Practice, and Teacher Education

A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the effectiveness of stress management interventions in occupational settings. Thirty-six experimental studies were included, representing 55 interventions. Total sample size was 2,847. Of the participants, 59% were female, mean age was 35.4, and average length of intervention was 7.4 weeks. The overall weighted effect size (Cohen's d) for all studies was 0.526 (95% confidence interval = 0.364, 0.687), a significant medium to large effect. Interventions were coded as cognitive-behavioral, relaxation, organizational, multimodal, or alternative. Analyses based on these subgroups suggested that intervention type played a moderating role. Cognitive-behavioral programs consistently produced larger effects than other types of interventions, but if additional treatment components were added the effect was reduced. Within the sample of studies, relaxation interventions were most frequently used, and organizational interventions continued to be scarce. Effects were based mainly on psychological outcome variables, as opposed to physiological or organizational measures. The examination of additional moderators such as treatment length, outcome variable, and occupation did not reveal significant variations in effect size by intervention type.

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Effects of occupational stress management intervention programs: a meta-analysis

We randomly surveyed 1,576 Florida special education teachers to examine factors that contribute to their propensity to leave or stay in the special education classroom or transfer to a new school. The variables identified, based on extensive review of the literature, included background, classroom, school district, and personal factors. We tracked our respondents for 2 years using a multinomial logit model to identify significant predictors of leaving, staying, or transferring. Results indicate that teachers left special education teaching primarily due to insufficient certification, perceptions of high stress, and perceptions of poor school climate. Special educators who transferred to a different school or district had perceptions of high stress and perceptions of poor school climate and were significantly younger than stayers.

Factors That Predict Teachers Staying in, Leaving, or Transferring from the Special Education Classroom

In intervention research, treatment fidelity is defined as the strategies that monitor and enhance the accuracy and consistency of an intervention to ensure it is implemented as planned and that each component is delivered in a comparable manner to all study participants over time. Reviews of the literature in special education and other disciplines reveal that reports of treatment fidelity are limited. In this article, we examine some recommendations made by the National Institutes of Health Behavior Change Consortium that may be adapted to document treatment fidelity in educational research. We discuss the critical importance of planning for, collecting, and reporting treatment fidelity data at each stage of intervention research and discuss the implications of these practices for validity issues, efficacy and effectiveness studies, and cost-benefit considerations. Throughout the article, we use our own classroom-based research to provide examples of expanding treatment fidelity in randomized field trials. ********** There is increased emphasis on investigative and experimental rigor for educational researchers because of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which demands the use of "scientifically-based research" as the basis for educational programming and classroom practices. As in the early developmental stages of research-based fields such as medicine and psychology, education has often relied on tradition, anecdotal evidence, and a collective sense of expert opinion to guide its instructional practices. These sources of evidence, however, do not effectively provide educators with precise or accurate enough information to determine which educational practices are truly effective, for whom, and under what conditions. Scientifically- based research, on the other hand, "... means research that involves the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs" (NCLB, 2001). Such studies are judged on their scientific merit, which involves appropriate research design, thorough investigative methods, and valid and reliable measures to provide objective evidence from which to draw conclusions about an educational practice. Yet, scientifically-based research in education not only encompasses rigorously conducted efficacy studies (i.e., whether an intervention can work under specified conditions), but also includes effectiveness studies that show intervention outcomes under less controlled, authentic educational situations across a variety of conditions. As educational research continues to evolve, researchers need to determine how dissemination of scientifically-based effective practices can be achieved for the benefit of thousands of students, teachers, and other education professionals. A critical factor in determining the efficacy, effectiveness, and successful dissemination of an educational practice is ensuring that the professionals who are responsible for its implementation deliver an intervention under study with accuracy and conformity. Treatment fidelity is defined as the strategies that monitor and enhance the accuracy and consistency of an intervention to (a) ensure it is implemented as planned and (b) make certain each component is delivered in a comparable manner to all participants over time (Bellig et al., 2004; Detrich, 1999; Dumas, Lynch, Laughlin, Smith, & Prinz, 2001; Lane, Bocian, MacMillian, & Gresham, 2004). If treatment fidelity is not measured, researchers cannot ascertain with confidence whether study outcomes were due to treatment or to factors incidental to the intervention (Bellg et al., 2004). Lack of treatment fidelity data also makes replication of, and comparisons between, interventions problematic (Hester, Baltodano, Gable, Tonelson, & Hendrickson, 2003). …

Treatment fidelity in applied educational research: Expanding the adoption and application of measures to ensure evidence-based practice.

Evaluations of individualized education programs (IEPs) over the past decade have pointed to an inoperative IEP process and a questionable document. A three-phased review of data-based research and position papers from 1975 to 1989 reveals a history of IEP inadequacies and passive compliance. These findings are in contrast to the original intent and spirit of Public Law 94–142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA). Implications for special education policy and practice have not been considered. Recommendations include a reexamination of the IEP in the context of the current special education reform debate.

Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) in Special Education—From Intent to Acquiescence

Cognitive behavior modification (CBM) has been used for the past 25 years to mitigate maladaptive behaviors through the use of covert self-statements. Yet few reviewers have examined the use of CBM in school settings to reduce hyperactive-impulsive and aggressive behaviors in children and youth. This meta-analysis examined the outcomes of 23 studies. The mean effect size across all the studies was 0.74, and 89% of the studies had treatment participants who experienced greater gains than their control counterparts on posttest and maintenance measures when exposed to a treatment with a cognitive component. These results are discussed in terms of study characteristics and design, and recommendations for future research are made.

Cognitive behavior modification of hyperactivity–impulsivity and aggression: A meta-analysis of school-based studies.

Teachers of students with emotional/ behavioral disorders (EBD) work with the most difficult-to-teach and the most difficult-to-manage pupils. Students with EBD frequently engage in behavioral deviancies that include aggression, hyperactivity, lack of self-control, inattention, and disrespect for authority. In addition, behavioral excesses often detract from learning opportunities and preclude positive peer relationships. Instruction for most of these students must target social skills remediation along with increasing academic proficiency and self-esteem. Cognitive behavior modification (CBM) represents a viable approach to remediating behavioral deficits and excesses by providing individuals with the necessary tools to control their own behavior. As its name implies, CBM involves using the principles of inner speech to modify underlying cognitions that affect overt behavior (Mahoney, 1974; Meichenbaum, 1977). For example, problem-solving strategies incorporate a \"how\"-to-think framework for students to use when modifying behavior rather than explicit \"what\"to-think instruction from a teacher. In addition, CBM techniques, due to inherent components, allow students to generalize their learned behavior more so than teacher-operated systems that rely on external reward and punishment procedures (Harris & Pressley, 1991). The following investigation by Etscheidt (1991) is a good example of the effectiveness of interventions using CBM techniques. Etscheidt wanted to know if a specific CBM strategy could decrease the aggressive behaviors in students with EBD as compared to students who did not receive the instruction. Additionally, Etscheidt wanted to determine if the addition of a positive consequence (e.g., listening to music at the end of class) would further enhance the effectiveness of the CBM intervention. Etscheidt's program components were adapted from the Lochman, Nelson, and Sims (1981) Anger Coping Program, which provides students with a way to change aggressive responses into appropriate alternatives by modifying their thinking processes regarding the circumstances surrounding certain situations. The instruction also assists the students in developing, evaluating, and selecting appropriate alternative responses. Etscheidt's goals included increasing self-awareness; identifying a student's reaction to peer influences; providing avenues to identify problem situations; and using problem-solving techniques to identify, evaluate, and select alternative solutions for a specific social situation. In Etscheidt's program, students used the following sequential strategy when approaching a problem situation:

Stephen W. Smith

Papers

Factors That Predict Teachers Staying in, Leaving, or Transferring from the Special Education Classroom

Treatment fidelity in applied educational research: Expanding the adoption and application of measures to ensure evidence-based practice.

Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) in Special Education—From Intent to Acquiescence

Cognitive behavior modification of hyperactivity–impulsivity and aggression: A meta-analysis of school-based studies.

Cognitive Behavior Modification