Robert W. Covert

Prediction of School Readiness and Early Grade Achievement By Classroom Teachers

The Hayes Early Identification Listening Response Test (HEILRT) designed to measure school readiness, emphasizes listening comprehension, visual perceptual, and fine motor skills. The HEILRT was administered to kindergarten children in medium-sized groups in 20 minute sessions. The two levels of the test correlated .79 and .83 with the Metropolitan Readiness Test. No significant correlations were obtained btween the HEILRT and demographic indices. The test also correlated highly positive with first and second grade achievement. The major strength of the test is its effectiveness in identifying preschool children who may experience achievement problems in early elementary grades.

The Moderator Effect of Undergraduate Grade Point Average on the Prediction of Success in Graduate Education.

Three hundred and six Masters of Education students at a large urban university were divided into six subgroups according to sex and to each of three levels of undergraduate grade point average. Correlation coefficients between graduate grade point average and each of three predictor variables, consisting of Graduate Record Examinations—Verbal score, Graduate Record Examination— Quantitative score, and undergraduate grade point average, were calculated for each of the six subgroups. Results showed differential predictability across the different subgroups.

Validity and Reliability of a Simple Device for Readiness Screening

The utility of the Hayes Early Identification Listening Response Test (HEILRT), a rapidly administered screening test for readiness for first grade, was studied with 121 kindergarten pupils who were tested at the beginning of the academic year. The test could be administered in 15 to 20 minutes to groups of up to 30 children at a time. Reliability of the test was estimated to be .86 and rater reliability was .99. The test correlated highly positively (.79) with the Metropolitan Readiness Test, but not with age, number of siblings, or educational level of the mother. It was concluded that based upon the data, the HEILRT held promise as a readiness screening instrument for use with kindergarten children.

Factorial Validity of a Student Evaluation of Teaching Instrument

The validity of the Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) used in the College of Education, University of Kentucky was studied using 3573 individual student evaluations from 254 graduate and undergraduate classes taught by 126 instructors in one semester in the College of Education. As a result of principal axis factor analysis with varimax rotation performed on the 17 item 5-point Likert Scale variables of the 22 item questionnaire, three factors were identified. The first factor was considered to be a measure of method and style of teaching. The second factor was made up of items relating to a students perception of self as it relates to the course. The third factor had high loading on items concerning materials and resources. It was concluded that the SET instrument was somewhat useful in evaluating teaching because items associated with teaching emerged as the primary distinct factor.

Role of Chairpersons at the Annual Conference

affect practice, policy, or theory? What uses of evaluation can be documented ; how can its use be ensured? In what ways might evaluation (or the evaluator) be misused? These and many other questions will be on the minds of evaluators as they meet to address this important topic. You can expect to have the contributions of evaluation chronicled--and very likely questioned as well. Plan now to participate in the jointly sponsored annual meeting of ENet, ERS, and CES. For more information, contact Bob Ingle, 719 Enderis Hall, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201; (414) 963-5173.

Reinventing the Wheel1: An Evaluation of an Evaluation Conference

The theme for the 1983 joint conference of the Evaluation Network (ENet) and the Evaluation Research Society (ERS) was &dquo;Evaluation: Expanding the Frontiers.&dquo; In keeping with this theme, the Evaluation Research Center (ERC) at the University of Virginia, in cooperation with ENet’s Research and Evaluation Committee, attempted to expand the frontiers of conference evaluations by using a qualitative design to

Evaluation '83: A Look at Its Outcomes (An Abstract of the Full Report):

Below is a summary of a follow-up study of the Evaluation ’83 Conference. The full report can be obtained by contacting the authors. The follow-up was based on questionnaire and telephone interview responses of 54 conference participants. The follow-up focused on the following topics: the number of sessions, paper selection, session quality, exchange of information, attendance, ENet/ERS merger, job bank, materials exchange, and outcomes.