Meeting Performance-Based Training Demands: Accountability in an Intervention-Based PracticumBarnett, David W.; Daly, Edward J.; Hampshire, Ellen M.; Hines, Nancy Rovak; Maples, Kelly A.; Ostrom, Jennifer K.; Van Buren, Amy E.
doi: 10.1037/h0089014pmid: N/A
This article describes the ways in which accountability methods were built intopracticum experiences for specialist- and doctoral-level school psychologytrainees at the University of Cincinnati. The results of intervention-basedservices were summed across individual cases developed by trainees as a means ofexamining the overall effectiveness of the practicum experience. Outcomes arereported as procedural adherence to the model of service delivery(operationalized as a procedural checklist), graphic analysis of the data,effect sizes, goal attainment scaling, and treatment acceptability. The methodsare discussed as examples of how to meet accountability demands for training inschool psychology while providing comprehensive training in the delivery ofintervention-based services.
A Preliminary Examination of the Relationship Between Exposure to Community Violence and Academic FunctioningOverstreet, Stacy; Braun, Shawnee
doi: 10.1037/h0089015pmid: N/A
This article provides a preliminary examination of the relationship betweenexposure to community violence and academic functioning in a group of 45 AfricanAmerican children (mean age = 12.8 years) living in an impoverished urbanenvironment. In addition, the role of family achievement expectations andreligion, two previously identified family compensatory factors related toacademic resilience, were evaluated as moderators of the relationship betweencommunity violence and academic functioning. Results suggested that exposure tocommunity violence had only a weak relationship with academic functioning ingeneral, but that relationship was intensified under certain circumstances.Significant interactions between exposure to community violence, and both familyachievement orientation and religious emphasis suggest that exposure tocommunity violence may alter the role of previously identified compensatoryfactors. Children who perceived very high achievement expectations and a verystrong moral-religious emphasis were most at risk for poor academic functioningas exposure to community violence increased, although children from these typesof families displayed the highest academic functioning at lower levels ofcommunity violence exposure.
The Effects of Explicit Timing on Mathematics Performance in Second-Grade Caucasian and African American StudentsRhymer, Katrina N.; Henington, Carlen; Skinner, Christopher H.; Looby, E. Joan
doi: 10.1037/h0089016pmid: N/A
This experiment was conducted to investigate and compare the effects of explicittiming on mathematics problem completion rates in African American and Caucasiansecond-grade students. During explicit timing, students were told they werebeing timed and instructed to circle the last problem completed at each 1-minuteinterval. A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that bothAfrican American and Caucasian second-grade students increased their problemcompletion rates when explicit timing procedures were implemented, but nosignificant cross-group differences were found in the increase in problemcompletion rates or problem accuracy. Although some have suggested that AfricanAmerican students have different learning styles, which are related to theirconceptualization of time, this study showed that an explicit timing procedurewas equally effective for increasing problem completion rates among AfricanAmerican and Caucasian students. Discussion focuses on applied and theoreticalimplications of culture-treatment interactions.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY SECTION: Measurement Myths and MisconceptionsGoodwin, Laura D.; Goodwin, William L.
doi: 10.1037/h0089017pmid: N/A
This study presents some frequently encountered measurement misconceptions and variousmeasurement “rules.” Included are four misconceptions pertaining to theestimation of validity and reliability, and six rules often used during instrument development.Of these six, two pertain to the estimation of internal consistency reliability and itemanalysis, and four pertain to factor analysis. Whenever possible, the origins of themisconceptions and rules are described, along with the reasons why they are problematic.Alternate approaches or considerations also are given. When estimating validity andreliability, researchers are encouraged to be “ruled” by logical andcritical evaluation of data rather than by arbitrary rules.