C. Dean Miller

Effects of Variables on Parental Perceptions of Staffings

This study explored the relationship between parental satisfaction with special education IEP staffings and six variables. Together the six variables accounted for 78% of the variance in satisfaction. Simply allowing enough time for a staffing accounted for the most variance. In addition, the following three variables also had a statistically significant impact on satisfaction: (a) input from a number of people to formulate a good educational program, (b) attribution of blame to sources other than the parents, and (c) amount of parent participation. Preparing parents for what to expect, and the number of people present at a staffing had relatively minor, though statistically significant, contributions to the total explained variation in satisfaction. Strategies are discussed for improving parental satisfaction with staffings.

Hispanic-Anglo Differences in Academic Achievement The Relationship of Self-esteem, Locus of Control and Socioeconomic Level with Grade-point Average in the USA

The contribution of self-esteem and locus of control to the discrepancy in academic achievement between Hispanics and Anglos was investigated. Subjects were 67 Hispanic and 304 junior high school students. Variables were: (a) ethnicity, (b) grade-point average, (c) academic self-esteem, (d) academic locus of control and (e) socioeconomic level. Results indicated that Hispanics had a significantly lower mean grade-point average than Anglos. However, there were no significant differences in mean self-esteem or mean locus of control scores between the two groups. Interestingly, there was a significant interaction between locus of control and achievement for Anglos, but not for Hispanics, although the effect size was small. There was also a significant difference in grade-point average associated with socioeconomic level with Hispanics having a significantly lower mean socioeconomic level than Anglos. In addition, results indicated that self-esteem accounted for the largest amount of variance in students GPA, regardless of the students ethnicity. These results were discussed in terms of implications for future research and intervention designed to raise grade-point average.

School Psychologists' Perceptions of Their Work: Satisfactions and Dissatisfactions in the United States

Forty school psychologists in two districts of the U.S.A. were interviewed using a structured interview format to obtain their perceptions of satisfactions and dissatisfactions associated with their work. Four areas of satisfaction and five of dissatisfaction were identified. A major finding was that many of the school psychologists did not appear to have had adequate training in coping with the pressures, stress, and dissatisfactions which they were experiencing.

Disproportionality of Cell Frequencies in Psychological and Educational Experiments Involving Multiple Classification.

ogy are a frequent occurrence. Many psychologists and educators, when confronted with the problem of disproportionality, obtain proportional subclass numbers through a random sampling procedure. With a fairly large number of observations per cell and only slight or moderate deviation from proportionality, the researcher is able to obtain the necessary analysis, through random sampling procedures, to interpret the data. One of the difficulties has been an inability to specify what constitutes a fairly large number of observations and slight or moderate deviation from proportional or equal subclass numbers. With extreme deviations resulting from disproportionality, the researcher is confronted with a situation in which alternatives are not readily available. The authors present here a systematic formulation of general methods of attacking the problem. Tsao (1946) presented a brief historical review of the discus-

Scoring, Analyzing, and Reporting Classroom Tests Using an Optical Reader and 1401 Computer

areas to be reviewed, and (e) maintenance of grade registers for large classes and computation of final grades using computers. Instructors at Colorado State University may use stock IBM 1230 or 1231 answers sheets which are fed directly into the optical reader and computer at the rate of 600 to 2000 an hour, depending on the type of analysis and format used to report results. The programs, which have several options, accommodate a wide range of tests. An answer sheet containing 150 items with five response positions may be fed directly into the system which will complete the scoring, analysis, and printing of an individual report or the

Evaluation of the Boy's Town Motivation System in a US School Setting

A comprehensive classroom behavior management program, the Boys Town System (BTS), was evaluated in a US school setting. The BTS was used in four programs for emotionally/behaviorally disturbed (EBD) students. Two other EBD programs served as control groups. Academic performance was measured using the Three Rs Achievement Test and curriculum based assessment. Teacher ratings of student behavior were gathered using the Conners Rating Scale and the Social Skills Scale. Independent observers collected data regarding on-task behavior. In addition, consumer satisfaction information was gathered. The results indicated that there were significant post-treatment differences between groups in on-task behavior. In addition, consumer satisfaction data indicated that teachers were generally satisfied with the use of the BTS. No differences, however, were found in academic performance or teacher ratings of student behavior. These results provide some initial empirical support for the use of the BTS.

A Comparison of the Use of Orthographic Structure in Word Discrimination by Learning Disabled and Normal Children

A group of 45 learning disabled children and a group of 45 normal children were presented pairs of letter patterns. In each pair, one pattern was a word in English (orthographically legitimate) and the other was not (orthographically illegitimate). Children were asked to identify the pattern that “is most like a real word.” After twenty pairs had been given, the reading section of the Wide Range Achievement Test was administered. A significant difference was found between the learning disabled and normal groups in discriminating between orthographically legitimate and orthographically illegitimate pairs. Further, this ability to discriminate correlated with performance on the reading section of the Wide Range Achievement Test.