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Research on flipped instruction with English Language Learners (ELLs) is sparse. Data-driven flipped research conducted with ELLs primarily involves adult learners attending a college or university. This study examined the academic performance of secondary ELLs who received flipped instruction in an algebra course at a newcomer school compared to ELLs enrolled in the same course who received traditional instruction, and investigated ELLs' perceptions of flipped instruction. Findings indicate students enrolled in the flipped course enjoyed the course structure more than a traditional classroom and performed slightly higher than ELLs who received traditional instruction. However, there was no statistical significant mean difference in the academic performance from students enrolled in algebra with flipped instruction compared to students enrolled in the same course with no flipped instruction.

Assessment and identification of Intellectual Disability (ID) under the IDEA 2004 requires the measurement of both intelligence and adaptive behavior and the presence of significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period that adversely affect a student's educational performance. Best practices in the assessment of ID call for the use of appropriate individually administered, standardized, norm-referenced measures of intelligence and adaptive behavior. Full-scale intelligence test scores and adaptive behavior composite scores and domains scores should all be accompanied by confidence intervals due to measurement error. Best practices in the measurement of adaptive behavior suggest reliance on the composite score in the identification of ID over domain scores given the lower reliability and validity of the domain scores with some measures. Furthermore, the collection of data from multiple informants is necessary due to measurement error and the understanding that adaptive behavior is often situationally specific. This practice also reduces the likelihood of overidentification and may result in the identification of specific skills that merit further assessment and intervention. This study expands past research by examining current state special education guidelines based on IDEIA and their alignment with best practices in assessment across all U.S. states and the District of Columbia (DC) for the assessment of ID. Aggregated and disaggregated data pertaining to special education guidelines and recommendations are examined, including cut-scores and confidence intervals, information specific to composite adaptive behavior scores versus domain scores, and multiple informants. Limitations, implications, and recommendations based on best practices in assessment for educational professionals involved in the assessment of ID are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resurveys of historical collecting localities have revealed range shifts, primarily leading edge expansions, which have been attributed to global warming. However, there have been few spatially replicated community-scale resurveys testing whether species' responses are spatially consistent. Here we repeated early twentieth century surveys of small mammals along elevational gradients in northern, central and southern regions of montane California. Of the 34 species we analysed, 25 shifted their ranges upslope or downslope in at least one region. However, two-thirds of ranges in the three regions remained stable at one or both elevational limits and none of the 22 species found in all three regions shifted both their upper and lower limits in the same direction in all regions. When shifts occurred, high-elevation species typically contracted their lower limits upslope, whereas low-elevation species had heterogeneous responses. For high-elevation species, site-specific change in temperature better predicted the direction of shifts than change in precipitation, whereas the direction of shifts by low-elevation species was unpredictable by temperature or precipitation. While our results support previous findings of primarily upslope shifts in montane species, they also highlight the degree to which the responses of individual species vary across geographically replicated landscapes.

Research on flipped instruction with K-12 English Language Learners (ELLs) is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the academic performance of ELLs who received flipped instruction in an algebra course at a newcomer high school, and to investigate ELLs' perceptions of flipped learning. Results indicate flipped instruction engaged students and motivated them to learn algebra. Students believed flipped instruction was an effective approach to learn algebra, and enjoyed the course structure more than a traditional classroom. Results also reveal students enrolled in the flipped course performed slightly higher than their peers who received traditional instruction.

Abstract Background Despite considerable progress in our understanding of land plant phylogeny, several nodes in the green tree of life remain poorly resolved. Furthermore, the bulk of currently available data come from only a subset of major land plant clades. Here we examine early land plant evolution using complete plastome sequences including two previously unexamined and phylogenetically critical lineages. To better understand the evolution of land plants and their plastomes, we examined aligned nucleotide sequences, indels, gene and nucleotide composition, inversions, and gene order at the boundaries of the inverted repeats. Results We present the plastome sequences of Equisetum arvense, a horsetail, and of Isoetes flaccida, a heterosporous lycophyte. Phylogenetic analysis of aligned nucleotides from 49 plastome genes from 43 taxa supported monophyly for the following clades: embryophytes (land plants), lycophytes, monilophytes (leptosporangiate ferns + Angiopteris evecta + Psilotum nudum + Equisetum arvense), and seed plants. Resolution among the four monilophyte lineages remained moderate, although nucleotide analyses suggested that P. nudum and E. arvense form a clade sister to A. evecta + leptosporangiate ferns. Results from phylogenetic analyses of nucleotides were consistent with the distribution of plastome gene rearrangements and with analysis of sequence gaps resulting from insertions and deletions (indels). We found one new indel and an inversion of a block of genes that unites the monilophytes. Conclusions Monophyly of monilophytes has been disputed on the basis of morphological and fossil evidence. In the context of a broad sampling of land plant data we find several new pieces of evidence for monilophyte monophyly. Results from this study demonstrate resolution among the four monilophytes lineages, albeit with moderate support; we posit a clade consisting of Equisetaceae and Psilotaceae that is sister to the "true ferns," including Marattiaceae.

"Curriculum-Based Measurement" (CBM) is a direct method of academic assessment used to screen and evaluate students' skills and monitor their responses to academic instruction and intervention. Interventioncentral.org offers a math worksheet generator at no cost that creates randomly generated "math curriculum-based measures" (M-CBMs). In this study, we examined the test-retest reliability and alternate-form reliability of four parallel, randomly generated M-CBMs designed to assess multiple arithmetic skills (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). The participants (N = 283 sixth-grade students) completed each M-CBM worksheet twice during a semester. According to our results, these M-CBMs have moderate test-retest and alternate-form reliability. Applying the Spearman-Brown Prophecy Formula revealed that aggregating M-CBMs increases the reliability of these measures to acceptable levels for progress monitoring (i.e., above .80).

The Stop & Think Social Skills Program was implemented as a stand-alone primary prevention program using a sequential cohort design with two cohorts of kindergarten students. Cohorts were assessed at pretest and posttest using the Social Skills Rating System Teacher Questionnaire. Students in Cohort 1 showed improvement in Social Skills, Academic Competence, and Problem Behaviors. Comparison of posttest scores in this cohort with pretest scores collected at the same time for Cohort 2 indicated that these changes were unlikely to be caused by maturation. Cohort 2 also showed improvement in Social Skills and Problem Behaviors following implementation of the program but did not show a statistically significant change in Academic Competence. In addition, changes in specific academic skills were not consistent across cohorts. Measures of treatment integrity indicated the program was implemented as designed. Social validity ratings by teachers revealed that they believed the intervention enhanced students' social skills, but teachers were concerned about the length of the program and students' understanding of program content. Limitations of the study and the implications of these findings for school psychology are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

The No Child Left Behind Act and the accountability movement in public education caused many states to develop criterion-referenced academic achievement tests. Scores from these tests are often used to make high stakes decisions. Even so, these tests typically do not receive independent psychometric scrutiny. We evaluated the 2005 Arkansas Benchmark Examination, which was being used as part of the accountability system in Arkansas at that time, based primarily on The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing and the Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education. Numerous concerns related to test development and data reporting were revealed. Recommendations applicable to criterion-referenced testing in any state are provided. (Contains 1 table.)

This study examined effects of negative versus positive symptom formats on the assessment and subsequent classification of ADHD in children in public schools. Symptoms associated with the disorder based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) were presented to parents and teachers of referred children according to both types of formats. Informants were then asked to indicate whether the symptoms described the child's behavior over the last six months. Overall, the negatively phrased symptoms appeared to generate response bias which resulted in an increased percentage of children meeting the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD. Additionally, the decision reliability or classification agreement between the two formats was low suggesting the possibility of confirmation bias in the assessment process. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

The controversial practice of using unlicensed individuals to administered psychological tests has been questioned by some psychologists, professional organizations, state and provincial boards of psychology, state governments, departments of education, and third-party health care providers. This article provides an overview of the ethical, legal, and technical issues surrounding the controversy. On the basis of a review of these issues, recommendations are offered that are directed toward state and provincial boards of psychology, developers and publishers of psychological tests, and licensed psychologists.

Desmids (sensu lato) are a group of morphologically diverse, freshwater algae, which have been used as biological indicators in some regions. In this study, we sampled three New England ponds from 2017 to 2019 and recorded their desmid floras. We then curated early- to mid-20th-century floristic data from the same ponds and compared them to our findings from 2017 to 2019 to document changes in desmid assemblages over the last 100 years. We assessed the past and current conservation value of the ponds using desmids as biological indicators. We documented a major decline in desmid diversity and conservation value of two of the ponds, but we documented remarkable diversity in Hawley Bog in western Massachusetts, with 66 taxa newly reported from the locality. Additionally, we documented the first record of Micrasterias brachyptera from New England. To aid future floristic efforts, we provided our species records and images in a public repository, the community-science database iNaturalist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of candidates' professional dispositions and work characteristics has recently become an important requirement for advanced programs accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and is also necessary for program approval by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) which is a Specialized Professional Association (SPA) for CAEP. CAEP not only requires the assessment of professional dispositions for candidates but also calls for the measure to have established content validity and reliability. The authors address the establishment of content validity for a measure designed to assess school psychology candidates' professional dispositions and work characteristics. Content validity was based on items from previously developed informal school psychology measures and by surveying school psychology program coordinators of NASP approved or accredited programs across the U.S. (N = 168). Program coordinators rated the importance of each item on the measure according to one of four responses (i.e., Not Relevant = 1, Somewhat Relevant = 2, Relevant = 3, Very Relevant = 4). Data analysis consisting of a single series of single-sample Wilcoxon signed rank tests, p-values, and effect sizes with the initial 40- item measure consisting of nine professional dispositions and 31 professional work characteristics resulted in a revised 32-item measure composed of seven professional dispositions and 25 work characteristics. The revised rating scale is presented in addition to results of the analysis, discussion of limitations and future research, and implications for school psychology training programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Despite considerable progress in our understanding of land plant phylogeny, several nodes in the green tree of life remain poorly resolved. Furthermore, the bulk of currently available data come from only a subset of major land plant clades. Here we examine early land plant evolution using complete plastome sequences including two previously unexamined and phylogenetically critical lineages. To better understand the evolution of land plants and their plastomes, we examined aligned nucleotide sequences, indels, gene and nucleotide composition, inversions, and gene order at the boundaries of the inverted repeats. Results We present the plastome sequences of Equisetum arvense, a horsetail, and of Isoetes flaccida, a heterosporous lycophyte. Phylogenetic analysis of aligned nucleotides from 49 plastome genes from 43 taxa supported monophyly for the following clades: embryophytes (land plants), lycophytes, monilophytes (leptosporangiate ferns + Angiopteris evecta + Psilotum nudum + Equisetum arvense), and seed plants. Resolution among the four monilophyte lineages remained moderate, although nucleotide analyses suggested that P. nudum and E. arvense form a clade sister to A. evecta + leptosporangiate ferns. Results from phylogenetic analyses of nucleotides were consistent with the distribution of plastome gene rearrangements and with analysis of sequence gaps resulting from insertions and deletions (indels). We found one new indel and an inversion of a block of genes that unites the monilophytes. Conclusions Monophyly of monilophytes has been disputed on the basis of morphological and fossil evidence. In the context of a broad sampling of land plant data we find several new pieces of evidence for monilophyte monophyly. Results from this study demonstrate resolution among the four monilophytes lineages, albeit with moderate support; we posit a clade consisting of Equisetaceae and Psilotaceae that is sister to the "true ferns," including Marattiaceae.