No description available.

Survey questionnaires were utilized to solicit information from women between the ages of 65 and 74 who were in attendance at senior citizens' meetings. Primary objectives of the survey questionnaire were (1) to identify an optimum size range (most frequently occurring size) on which to base the measurement portion of the study, (2) to solicit information regarding the fit of clothing, and (3) to seek information regarding garment alterations required by these women. From the eighty-eight respondents, a purposive sample of twenty-one women between the ages of 65 and 74, and falling within optimum size identified in Phase I of the study, was selected for measurement. Fifty-six measurements were made on each subject. The measurements were statistically analyzed and compared with the standard size 12 used by pattern companies and the ready-to-wear industry. The women in this study, by and large, were heavier and shorter than the reference size twelve to which they were compared.

During hyperthermia therapy it is desirable to know the entire temperature field in the treatment region. Tikhonov regularization of order zero has been implemented. The accuracy of the estimates depends upon the value of regularization parameter, which has an optimal value that is dependent on the perfusion pattern and magnitude. The transient power-off time sampling length (i.e. the amount of transient data used) influences the accuracy of the estimates, and an optimal sampling length exists. The effects of additive noise are investigated, as are the effects of the initial guess of the perfusion values, and the effect of both symmetric and asymmetric blood perfusion patterns. The asymmetric patterns with noisy data are the most difficult cases to evaluate. The cases studied are not a comprehensive set, but a representative set whose results continue to show the feasibility of using state and parameter estimation methods to reconstruct the entire temperature field. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)

Projective tree drawing techniques are used by clinicians and therapists to assess the personality and emotional state of patients. This study compares the results of administering a computerized projective tree drawing technique with the results obtained by a pencil and paper counterpart. Both techniques are based upon the tree drawing component of the House-Tree-Person technique and related tests. With Compute-A-Tree, subjects created tree pictures from a menu of preselected imagery while subjects taking the conventional form of the technique produced spontaneous tree drawings. A post-drawing questionnaire (PDQ) employing a Likert scale was used to measure subjects attitudes regarding their tree images. The mean score for computer rendered trees was higher than the mean score for conventionally rendered images. Similarities were found between responses to the images obtained through the two forms of administration.

In this pilot study, generalizability theory was used as an exploratory analysis of the various sources of error in the scoring of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales. The different score conversions, raters, and growth of participants were the facets used in a fully crossed, random effects design. The results indicated that the score conversions effectively controlled for the variability in typically developing children in the same age range. The results showed that the raters accounted for small amounts of the estimated variance. In addition, the results indicated that the CSBS was sensitive to the different rates of development in the participants in the study. The results suggested that the CSBS successfully controls for the variability in the development of communicative behaviors without sacrificing sensitivity to different rates of growth and uses cluster scores to effectively differentiate strengths and weaknesses in individual children. The findings and their implications for futures studies are discussed.

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No description available.

<p>In this descriptive study, I researched five elementary general education teachers&rsquo; reading assessment practices as they worked within the context of IDEA (2004), NCLB (2002) and Response to Intervention (RTI). My own connection to the classroom and reading assessment practices brought me to this research. I presented my personal and professional connection through vignettes about my own classroom assessment practices. Relevant literature on both the context and culture of assessment were pertinent to this research. </p><p> I used a qualitative design, specifically, Colaizzi&rsquo;s (1978) method of phenomenological analysis. Data were three in-depth phenomenological interviews, relevant documents and artifacts, and use of a researcher reflective blog. I summarized the initial findings of this research through 10 clustered themes; shift of focus, ever changing accountability, independent efforts with data, collaborative efforts with data, working environment, interventions and reading assessment practices in action, authenticity in practice, lack of decision making power, teacher emotion, and teacher needs and wants and a composite narrative in order to describe the lived experience of these teachers reading assessment practices. </p><p> Implications from my research with regard to policy include a perceived incongruence between an RTI framework and the teacher evaluation system with regard to active collaboration. Those toward practice include difficulty with the day-to-day implementation of an RTI framework and the perception of a singular focus of RTI as disability determination. My recommendations for future research include an action research agenda designed to explore increased involvement of stakeholders such as students, parents and other school personnel. </p>

<p> This dissertation examined the College-Ready Teaching Framework (CRTF), a multiple measure teacher effectiveness rubric created by Green Dot Public Schools. The purpose of the dissertation was to determine whether or not the CRTF as a whole or in part could account for differences in student outcomes (California Standards Test [CST] scores, student growth percentile [SGP], and grade point average [GPA]). The study included teachers and students at Green Dot during the 2012-2013 school year. Correlational analyses were used to determine if there was a relationship between student achievement outcomes and the CRTF. Factor analysis was used to discover other Factors in addition to the CRTF's original five Domains. Multiple regression and step-wise regression were employed to determine if a combination of indicators, Domains, or Factors could predict student scores. The results of the findings showed that overall there were no relationships between Teacher Effectiveness Score (TES), Teacher Observation Score (TObs), and student outcome metrics (SGP, CST, and GPA). Disaggregating the dataset for math, science, and history separately, however, moderate relationships emerged between TES, TObs, SGP, and CST. Four additional Factors emerged from factor analysis that were similar to the original theoretical Domains created by CRTF designers; however. neither the original Domains nor the additional Factors were related to student outcomes. Finally, no regression model was found to hold any practical significance as no combination of indicators, Domains, or Factors accounted for more than 19.5% of the variation in student outcomes. The findings of this study are largely consistent with similar studies in the research literature where correlation analysis has been promising, yet inconsistent. The results of this study represent the addition of the CRTF to the research literature. Future research on the study of the effect of professional development and the impact of various weights of the CRTF composite score are recommended.</p>

<p> Increasingly, educational reform efforts are turning towards data-driven decision making strategies to help teachers improve instruction through skills-based instruction/content that is both measurable and aligned to common rigorous standards, such as the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Examining the impact of a formative online assessment system on a summative measurement of student achievement may provide evidence that data-driven instructional platforms can impact student achievement and learning outcomes. Guided by the theoretical frameworks of Vygotsky and Dewey, along with the concepts of multiple intelligence, constructivism, and mastery learning, this study examined the relationship between student scores from an online formative assessment administered quarterly and an end-of-year summative evaluation. A stepwise multiple regression analyzed the predictive power of the iReady formative assessment program towards archived SAT-10 reading and mathematics data among Grades 1-4 students, before and after the iReady program was implemented (<i>N</i> = 339). The results showed a significant relationship between the iReady program and SAT-10, explaining 11.6% of the variance in SAT-10 scores. The study's intended audience is educators, school districts, and policy makers who are using the achievement data produced by formative assessments to improve results on measures of academic achievement, leading to positive social change.</p>