Abstract: Recent debates about the utility of teacher education have raised questions about whether certified teachers are, in general, more effective than those who have not met the testing and training requirements for certification, and whether some candidates with strong liberal arts backgrounds might be at least as effective as teacher education graduates. This study examines these questions with a large student-level data set from Houston, Texas that links student characteristics and achievement with data about their teachers' certification status, experience, and degree levels from 1995-2002. The data set also allows an examination of whether Teach for America (TFA) candidates-recruits from selective universities who receive a few weeks of training before they begin teaching-are as effective as similarly experienced certified teachers. In a series of regression analyses looking at 4th and 5th grade student achievement gains on six different reading and mathematics tests over a six-year period, we find that certified teachers consistently produce stronger student achievement gains than do uncertified teachers. These findings hold for TFA recruits as well as others. Controlling for teacher experience, degrees, and student characteristics, uncertified TFA recruits are less effective than certified teachers, and perform about as well as other uncertified teachers. TFA recruits who become certified after 2 or 3 years do about as well as other certified teachers in supporting student achievement gains; however, nearly all of them leave within three years. Teachers' effectiveness appears strongly related to the preparation they have received for teaching.

Abstract: The authors examined how networks of teams integrate their efforts to succeed collectively. They proposed that integration processes used to align efforts among multiple teams are important predictors of multiteam performance. The authors used a multiteam system (MTS) simulation to assess how both cross-team and within-team processes relate to MTS performance over multiple performance episodes that differed in terms of required interdependence levels. They found that cross-team processes predicted MTS performance beyond that accounted for by within-team processes. Further, cross-team processes were more important for MTS effectiveness when there were high cross-team interdependence demands as compared with situations in which teams could work more independently. Results are discussed in terms of extending theory and applications from teams to multiteam systems.

Abstract: In April 2002, the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health was created by executive order to study the mental health care delivery system in our nation and to make recommendations for improvements so that individuals with serious mental disorders can live, work, learn, and fully participate in their homes and communities. In its report, "Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America," the commission provided strategies to address critical infrastructure, practice, and research issues. This article focuses on the work of the commission's Subcommittee on Children and Families, describing its vision for mental health service delivery for children and providing suggestions for strengthening community-based care for youths with or at risk of behavioral health disorders. Training, research, practice, and policy implications for psychologists are discussed.

Abstract: There currently exists no universally accepted method of determining and reporting patient assessments of hospital care (Castle et al. 2005). The CAHPS® hospital survey was designed to provide consumers with comparative information about hospital performance regionally and nationally, as well as provide hospitals with a national benchmarking database that could be used to set performance goals and evaluate progress toward those goals (Goldstein et al. 2005). The conceptual framework of the survey drew from the domains of quality health care proposed in the Institute of Medicine's (2001) (IOM) report Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century: (1) respect for patients' values; (2) attention to patients' preferences and expressed needs; (3) coordination and integration of care; (4) patient information, communication and education; (5) physical comfort; (6) emotional support; (7) involvement of family and friends; (8) transition and continuity of care; and (9) access to care. The development of items for these nine dimensions is detailed in Levine, Fowler, and Brown (2005), but will be briefly summarized here. A large pool of candidate item concepts relevant to the nine IOM quality domains was identified based on content included in the seven hospital surveys submitted for consideration in response to a Federal Register call for contributions (Goldstein et al. 2005). Questions were drafted to address the candidate items by following CAHPS survey design principles (Goldstein et al. 2005), including the requirement that items refer to observable behaviors or features of the environment (i.e. how often something is done or whether it is present) and do not refer to events for which the patient is not a knowledgeable informant (e.g. appropriate use of diagnostic procedures). The pool of drafted questions was tested for comprehensibility and content validity by following cognitive testing methodologies (systematic, in-person interviews) with former hospital patients as detailed by Levine, Fowler, and Brown (2005). Items that were ambiguous or confusing to interviewees, were not interpreted as intended, or did not refer to interviewees' direct experiences were modified or deleted. This process identified serious problems with 70 percent of the candidate items and eliminated all of the items from two of the IOM domains: those dealing with coordination of care and the involvement of family and friends. The final field test survey contained 33 items that referred to seven of the IOM dimensions of quality: respect for patients' values; attention to patients' preferences, and expressed needs; patient information, communication, and education; physical comfort; emotional support; transition and continuity of care; and access to care. The motivation to shorten the pilot test questionnaire came from the CAHPS design principal to incorporate stakeholder input throughout the survey development process. During electronic and in-person meetings and in response to a Federal Register call for comments on the pilot test instrument, stakeholders emphasized the need for brevity. They required that the survey be as short as possible in order to reduce administration costs and to allow room for users to add customized content (e.g. additional questions specific to their particular hospital system). In response, we sought to reduce the length of the survey by half. In this article, we present the analytic process by which we determined how to shorten the pilot-test version of the CAHPS Hospital Survey. This process required a careful balancing of three considerations: (1) the statistical properties of the item and composite scores; (2) the importance of item and composite content to patients; and (3) representation of IOM domains. CAHPS survey design principles require an integration of quantitative and qualitative data in order to avoid problems associated with relying on one source of information to the exclusion of the other. For example, it is not unusual to find questionnaires published in the peer-reviewed literature that were developed according to qualitative methods but not evaluated statistically for the reliability or validity of their item or composite scores. This is a risky method because regardless of how appropriate the question content appears, the data provided by the responses to the questions will have limited utility if the variance in responses is severely restricted or if the data do not indicate differences in health care quality. On the other hand, if one were to choose items for a questionnaire based solely on the properties of the data they provide (e.g. whether the responses discriminate among units of interest) with no regard for content, the resulting tool could include a small number of conceptually unrelated questions and the data could lack validity for stakeholders. It is unlikely that such a questionnaire would enjoy widespread use regardless of how precisely the data described differences in quality of care. Fortunately, the statistical properties of the questionnaire item responses and the importance of the item content, theoretically and to stakeholders, often provide the same guidance with regard to which subset of items are the best to select. In this article, we describe how standard psychometric methods and focus group methodology were used to identify the best subset of the 33 report items fielded in the version of the CAHPS Hospital Survey fielded in a three-state pilot test (described below).

Abstract: This study assessed policy actors’ influence on state reading policy and compared the structure of reading policy networks across eight states. Data for the study came from structured interviews and archival documents and were analyzed using social network analysis methods. This study found that state reading policy networks were heterogeneous in terms of both composition and policy actor influence, with government actors occupying significantly more central and more prestigious network positions than nongovernment actors. The analyses failed to confirm, however, that teacher organizations were the most central interest groups in state reading policy networks as hypothesized. Implications of this study for education policy actors were discussed and directions for future research suggested.

Abstract: What is item mapping and how does it aid test score interpretation? Which item mapping technique produces the most consistent results and most closely matches expert opinion?

Abstract: Objective To describe translation and cultural adaptation procedures, and examine the degree of equivalence between the Spanish and English versions of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) Consumer Assessments of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) Hospital Survey (H-CAHPS®) of patient experiences with care.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to address the effectiveness of a Spanish-English dual-language test booklet in 8th-grade mathematics. This study used analyses of test data (n = 402) as well as information gathered through focus groups (n = 68) and cognitive interviews (n = 18) to assess the accuracy and utility of the dual-language format as a testing accommodation. The data indicate that the translation procedures were effective and that the 2 test booklet formats were comparable once English-language proficiency and language used to answer the test were accounted for. Students found the dual-language format to be very useful, and no undue advantage appeared to be accorded to students given the dual-language booklet over the English-only booklet. In our discussion, we address translation issues and the challenges in accurately identifying students who should receive language accommodations.

Abstract: This represents one of a series of studies of the Longitudinal Emergency Medical Technician Attributes and Demographics Study (LEADS) being undertaken by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This secondary analysis of the LEADS database, which provides a representative sampling of EMTs throughout the United States, examines the effects of instructor quality on the level of preparedness of emergency medical technicians (EMTs). Results showed significant differences, based on instructor quality, in the ratings on ten dimensions of EMT preparedness for both EMT Basics and EMT Paramedics. Implications for HRD practitioners, adult educators and researchers are discussed.

Abstract: Although economists and sociologists have often concluded that values and other internal states have little causal weight in determining behaviour, there is some evidence that the tide is turning in this respect. This article contributes to the recent revival of interest in subjectivity by comparing two different kinds of survey methods that can be used to measure values in general, and the value of civic mindedness in particular. The explicit approach -widely used in current empirical research - derives value measures on the basis of direct questions asked in nationally representative surveys such as the General Social Survey and the National Election Studies. The factorial approach imputes values indirectly from answers to vignettes. In this study, the explicit approach is revealed to have greater predictive validity but substantially lower construct validity than the factorial approach. This finding highlights the distinction between prediction and explanation in social research, and casts doubt on the adequacy of revealed preference theory.

Abstract: Objective To evaluate the utility of a teacher-rating instrument (Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised [TOCA-R]) of aggressive behavior during elementary school years in identifying girls at risk of later criminal court violence. Method A community epidemiological sample of 845 urban public school girls was rated at six time points during elementary school regarding their level of aggressive/disruptive behavior (75% of whom were African American). Criminal violence was measured using juvenile court records. Logistic regression was used to study the strength of the association between early indicators of aggressive behavior and adolescent females' violent outcomes. An extension of the traditional receiver operating characteristics analysis was used to study the accuracy of identifying girls at risk of violence under three different screening and intervention scenarios. Results For girls, teacher ratings of aggression were a strong and consistent predictor of later violence across grades 1-5 and were strongest in fifth grade. Three screening scenarios were compared to determine the optimal identification threshold. The screening scenario with a focus on minimizing false negatives yielded the highest value (κ = 0.803). Conclusions This study supports other studies indicating that early levels of aggressive behavior are strong and robust predictors of later violence among girls but are of limited utility in the early identification of girls at risk, especially when the focus is on reducing both false positives and negatives.

Abstract: When tests are made up of testlets, a testlet-based item response theory (IRT) model may be used to account for local dependence among items from a common testlet. This study presents a new test characteristic curve method to link calibrations based on the Bradlow, Wainer, and Wang (1999) testlet model. Procedures for calculating the test characteristic curve linking coefficients are developed. The effectiveness of the method is investigated using simulated data. Results suggest that the linking coefficients are accurately recovered and superior to those obtained when using a traditional IRT model to link calibrations when testlet-based local dependence is present. A real data example illustrates the proposed linking method.

Abstract: News media tracking can be used to understand the content of news coverage and quantify its influence on public opinion and the social environment. We hypothesize that a parsimonious sampling of public health news coverage can gather statistically equivalent information to capture a census of coverage. We tested two general approaches to sampling. First, we randomly selected articles within a timeframe. Second, we randomly selected dates during 2000. None of these strategies showed a substantial deviation from the 2000 census of articles. We conclude that sampling coverage can produce estimates statistically equivalent to a census. Researchers should utilize coverage sampling.

Abstract: Introduction:Professional behavior is one of the cornerstones of effective emergency medical services (EMS) practice and is a required part of the National Standard Curricula for advanced levels of EMS education. However, peer rating of emergency medical technicians with respect to the 11 categories of professional behavior never has been quantified. This study uses a peer evaluation methodology to assess the affective competencies of practicing EMS providers.Methods:A professional behavior evaluation form was included as part of a survey that was sent to 2,443 randomly selected, nationally registered emergency medical technicians (EMTs). Participants were asked to rate the EMT partner with whom they worked most closely in the past year using 11 different categories of professional behavior using a Likert scale.Results:One thousand, five hundred, ten (61.8%) surveys were returned and analyzed. Both nationally registered EMTs at the Basic and Paramedic levels rated their partners with respect to 11 categories of professional behavior. The overall average score was 0.68 on a 0–1 scale, with one being the highest. The rating of each of the categories was: (1) integrity (0.77); (2) appearance/personal hygiene (0.74); (3) patient advocacy (0.73); (4) empathy (0.72); (5) self-confidence (0.70); (6) careful delivery of service (0.70); (7) respect (0.65); (8) communication skills (0.64); (9) time management skills (0.63); (10) teamwork/diplomacy skills (0.62); and (11) self-motivation (0.61). Overall, the NREMT-Paramedics rated their partners significantly lower than did the NREMT-Basics (p = 0.0156) and experienced EMT-Basics rated their partners significantly lower than did the newer EMT-Basics (p = 0.0002). Those EMTs who indicated high satisfaction with their current EMS assignment rated their partner more highly on professional behaviors than did those EMTs who were not as satisfied.Conclusion:Overall, EMTs peer evaluation of professional behavior was “good.” The behaviors most highly rated were integrity and appearance/personal hygiene. The behaviors rated lowest were self-motivation and team work/diplomacy. It appears that paramedics are more critical of their colleagues than are EMT-Basics, that experienced EMT-Basics are harsher critics than are newer EMT-Basics, and that there is a relationship between job satisfaction and peer evaluation.

Abstract: Recent trends show noticeable increases in the involvement of girls in the juvenile justice system. A disproportionately high number of these girls have co-occurring mental health diagnoses that are related in part to their victimization through sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Many girls also come from unstable families, whereas others are homeless, and a significant number have substance abuse problems, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety disorders. Not surprisingly, they have complex school histories, and they are at high risk for school failure and dropping out. In this article we discuss the unique challenges of girls with co-occurring disorders as they come into contact with systems that are not prepared to meet their needs. Further, concerns regarding inequity are discussed from the perspective of this vulnerable population: The persistent disconnect between the treatment needs of girls and the services provided in the juvenile justice system draws attention to the inequity...

Abstract: Objective Personal risk behaviors are modifiable. This report describes the 2002 national baseline of behavioral health risk factors of US emergency medical technicians (EMTs) that can guide policy and program development in improving EMT well-being. Methods A 19-item Health Behavioral Risk Survey (Appendix) was added to the 2002 Longitudinal Emergency Medical Technician Demographic Study mail survey. Risk survey questions covering physical activity, tobacco use, and alcohol use were modeled after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) questionnaire. Personal, non-work related seatbelt use and motor vehicle driving questions were adopted from the 2002 US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey (MVOSS). Post-stratification adjustment factors were used to allow comparisons with BRFSS and MVOSS national estimates. Results A total of 1,919 EMT respondents were compared with 239,866 BRFSS and 5,220 MVOSS respondents. These comparisons indicate that EMT-Basics drove more slowly than paramedics; male EMTs drove faster, drank more, and wore their seatbelts less often than did female EMTs; female EMTs smoked more and engaged in vigorous exercise less than males. Those EMTs who reported to be in fair or poor health, smoked more and exercised less than those who reported to be in good or excellent health. Regardless of gender, age, or race, EMTs, on average, wore their seatbelts less often, drove faster than, and were less likely to engage in moderate physical exercise, compared to US adults. Conclusion Stereotypical gender differences in risk behaviors exist among EMTs. An EMT's self-reported health positively correlates with smoking and exercising. Compared to US national estimates, except for smoking and vigorous exercise, EMTs have increased risk behaviors.

Abstract: How should amount of testing be defined? On average, how many hours does a U.S. student spend on testing? How does this compare with testing time in other countries? How do the type and purpose of testing vary from U.S. to other countries?

Abstract: The proposed Part E, Medicare Extra, outlined in this paper adds a comprehensive benefit option to Medicare, eliminating the need for beneficiaries to purchase a private drug plan and Med...

Abstract: Research has provided important lessons about developing and delivering high-quality professional development to educators. Features identified as indicative of high-quality professional learning experiences are the organization of the activity and its duration, the extent to which there is collective participation of teachers within an education institution, the degree of active learning opportunities, a content focus, and the degree to which the activity promotes coherence in professional development goals (Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Suk Yoon, 2001). The evaluation of the Teacher Technology Leaders (TTL) PT3 (1) Project at George Washington University (GWU) has been documenting the evolution of a professional development strategy exhibiting a number of these quality features. Over the three years of the project life, project staff and participants have been constructing knowledge and practice regarding the infusion of technology in teaching and learning by working first as individuals on their own knowledge development and then constructing multilayered teams with representatives from university, school, and technology partners. The results thus far have shown that progress has been enhanced by collective participation with a content focus in the study of a particular problem. In the following article, the evolution of this approach is presented and implications for faculty development are discussed. ********** In the past five years, a number of key organizations and research studies have contributed to the knowledge about how to structure high quality professional development. Although fewer studies connect these features to student learning and achievement, more work in this regard is currently being funded by federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in the Department of Education. The Council for Basic Education (CBE) held a Wingspread conference in 2001 and released a report listing the many sets of principles for high-quality professional development resulting from research and published in the educational literature. CBE recommended a few approaches (lesson study, student work, and assessment practice) as promising. Principles and strategies for effective professional development researched and described by Loucks-Horsley, Stiles, & Hewson (1996; also, Mundry & Loucks-Horsley, 1999) and her associates have been cited throughout the literature as well as the recognition of the challenging process of making decisions about professional development. A National Evaluation of the Eisenhower Professional Development Program contributed a model to analyze the relationships between features of professional development and teachers' self-reported increases in knowledge and skills and changes in teaching practice. On the basis of national sample data, the researchers concluded that six key features of professional development are effective in improving teaching practice. Three are characteristics of the structure of the activity: (a) the organization of the activity-whether it is a reform type, such as a study group or teacher network, in contrast to a traditional workshop or conference; (b) the duration of the activity, including the total number of contact hours and the span of time over which it extends; and (c) the extent to which the activity has collective participation of groups of teachers from the same school, department, or grade. Three additional features are characteristics of the substance of the activity: (d) the degree to which the activity has active learning opportunities for teachers; (e) the extent to which the activity has a content focus; and (f) the degree to which the activity promotes coherence in teachers' professional development by incorporating the experiences that are consistent with teachers' goals and aligned with state standards and assessments. (Garet et al., 2001) Although this model was tested with teachers of mathematics and science, its findings regarding change in teaching practice are supported by other arenas of research regarding the development of new skills or knowledge, such as constructivist theory, technology skill development, and team development. …

Abstract: The information function is an important statistic in item response theory (IRT) applications. Although the information function is often described as the IRT version of reliability, it differs from the classical notion of reliability from a critical perspective: replication. This article first explores the information function for the one-parameter model in detail and suggests an alternative method for its computation. Second, the difference between the IRT and classical test theory standard errors of measurement is discussed.

Abstract: This study examined the relationship between scores on field dependence and field independence and sensory learning preference, cognitive learning style, personality, interpersonal trust, attributions of responsibility for solving social problems, and attitudes regarding citizenship among youth. Participants were 72 private school students in Grades 6 through 12 (26 girls, 46 boys; M age: 15.2 yr., SD=1.9). When controlling for grade and sex, field independence (measured by Group Embedded Figures Test scores) was associated with Intuitive Thinking personality, Concrete lobal learning style, and rejection of individual responsibility for social problems, relative to governmental and community responsibility. Associations with other aspects of learning style fell short of significance. No association was found with generalized trust or citizenship attitudes. Reassessment of these variables with a larger sample should be undertaken.

Abstract: Since the gender demographics across majors have dramatically changed over the last few decades, a re-examination of the relationship between gender, undergraduate major selection, and compensation levels once in the workforce is important. This article will focus on how the salaries of college graduates have changed over the last decade. The analyses will explore the extent to which undergraduate major selection contributes to any male-female salary gap. A comparison of regression models for 1993 and 2001 describes the extent to which the selection of major remains a significant factor among those individuals who have entered the workforce.

Abstract: The passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 will help to reduce the out-of-pocket burdens women will face in 2006 once the full drug benefit is introduced. Nonetheless, the legislation is less than ideal and creates a number of issues that should be improved to meet women's needs. Three key elements of the legislation that were essential in gaining its passage stand in the way of such improvements: limits on the amount spent on the benefit, requirements to rely on the private sector, and a failure to adequately arrange for future financing. A major overhaul is unlikely, but it is possible that modest improvements to aid Medicare beneficiaries will be considered in the future. Several of those improvements are described here.