Thesis--Brigham Young University. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-179).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-87). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-125). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of a transition room between kindergarten and first grade upon later academic achievement. An examination of the peer relationship between transition room students and their classmates constituted an auxiliary purpose. The longitudinal portion of the study investigated achievement test scores of transition room students and their classmates over a six year period. Peer relationships between transition room students and their classmates in grades one through six were studied in autumn, 1973.There were two basic hypotheses: (a) there would be no significant differences in academic achievement between transition room students and their classmates in grades one through six; (b) there would be no significant differences in social standing between transition room students and their classmates in grades one through six.Students had been assigned to the transition room on the bases of Metropolitan Readiness Tests scores and kindergarten teachers' evaluations. The purpose of the transition room was to give children who were predicted to have little chance for success in the first grade an opportunity to develop in an enriched environment for another year prior to advancement. It was postulated that the extra year would enable transition room students to achieve more successfully when compared with their classmates who would be a year younger.The total population of the longitudinal study consisted of 287 pupils in the Ossian school. Sixty-six pupils constituted the composite transition group over the years studied, while the remaining 211 were their non-transition room classmates. One transition room student and twenty-seven of the non-transition room group were retained subsequent to entry into the first grade. This left sixty-five in the transition group and 184 in the group of classmates for comparison of achievement test scores. The total transition room group was two months younger, averaged ten points lower in intelligence quotients and twenty-one points lower on the Metropolitan Readiness Test than did their classmates at the end of kindergarten.For purposes of sociometric rating, a total of 350 students were surveyed--eighty-three in the transition group and 267 classmates.Three instruments were used to collect data pertinent to the hypotheses. The Stanford Achievement Test and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills were used to measure academic achievement. An informal instrument administered by the classroom teacher was used to measure social rating.Statistical procedures employed were an analysis of variance to test significance of differences between mean grade equivalents on achievement tests and a chi-square analysis to assess peer group rating. Results showed a significant difference in achievement in favor of the non-transition room classmates; no significant difference in peer rating in grades one, two, four, five and six, and a significant difference in peer rating in favor of the non-transition room classmates in grade three.It was concluded that the transition room did not enable students to achieve as a group on the same academic level with their younger classmates. However, the transition room reduced the actual number of retentions at subsequent grade levels and enabled students to achieve continuous academic progress as a group at or above grade norms suggested in standardized test manuals without negative effects upon peer group acceptance.

The purpose of this inquiry was the construction of a useful, valid, and reliable test instrument to be used for the prediction of the future academic success of students in the Iranian guidance cycle which occurs when students are approximately fourteen years of age. It was assumed that due to the lack of objective measuring instruments and standardized tests, the new guidance cycle would not function efficiently.The first instrument for the purpose of evaluating students' talents and abilities was constructed on the basis of items selected from several widely used American test batteries, such as the DAT and W-G CTA tests. These were translated into the Persian language. The experimental instrument constituted a total of 304 items with which selected Iranian students were tested.The one hundred students in the population selected for this study were randomly selected from eighth grade students at three junior high schools, two boy's schools and one girls' school in Tehran. The items were answered by the students in three sessions and then were returned to the United States for item analysis.Item analyses were run to identify those test items which clearly discriminated between the academically talented and less able students previously identified by teachers in the schools. Since the primary purpose of this experiment was to select the items which would discriminate most effectively, an ordinal index of difficulty was run in an effort to secure the appropriate selection of items. Indices of discrimination were also carried out. The most appropriate experimental approach, with respect to the external criterion (teachers' judgments concerning the students' academic ability), was judged to be the high-low group (HLG) design, with a wide separation between superior and less qualified students. The summary statistics of the item analyses run to determine the difficulty as well as discrimination of test items reflected the relatively high accuracy of the teachers' judgments in distinguishing between academically talented and non-academically talented students in this experiment. It appeared that the tests, on the whole, discriminated between the academically talented and non-academically oriented students, and thus, will likely function more effectively after the less discriminating items have been deleted and the tests are further refined.The items used in this experiment are related to the following seven interrelated competencies and appeared to be a valid measure of the general academic abilities of Iranian students:1. Verbal Reasoning2. Numerical Ability3. Inference4. Recognition of Assumption 5. Deduction6. Interpretation7. Evaluation of ArgumentsIn the first selection, eighty-six items fell within the criteria represented in the item analysis technique designed to strengthen test validity and reliability. An additional number of twenty-four items was selected in the second review of the items, thus making the total number of appropriate items one hundred and ten. The items selected appeared to show high validity and reliability for future testing with Iranian students. These will, hopefully, in the future constitute an assessment measure which will yield high correlation with the future academic success of Iranian students.This kind of test allows the guidance counselors of Iran to feel reasonably certain of the identification and prediction of student talents and abilities associated with academic or technical and vocational studies in the guidance cycle as well as in the subsequent planning of curricular programs. However, it would be difficult to reach final conclusions about the students? Academic success on the basis of test scores alone. There are a number of social and psychological factors which affect the academic success of students. Predictions made about students or their selection should be temporary, flexible, and, in effect, for a short term of time.

In order to study Maccoby & Martin's (1983) dimensions of parental responsiveness and demandingness among different achievement groups, 237 students were divided into average and low achievers and those with learning disabilities. The students completed the Children's Report of Parental Behavior Inventory (Schaefer, 1965) and their group scores on the three demandingness (Lax Discipline, Enforcement of Discipline, and Extreme Autonomy) and three responsiveness (Child-Centeredness, Rejection, and Acceptance of Individuation) subscales were compared. The MANOVA investigating responsiveness uncovered no differences among the three groups of achievers while only one subscale on the demandingness dimension significantly differentiated students with learning disabilities from the other groups. These findings are intriguing in that they do not support existing literature indicating that higher levels ofresponsiveness and demandingness relate to higher student achievement. / Department of Educational Psychology