Substitution voicing cannot be evaluated accurately by the GRBAS perceptual rating scale, and there is a need for a valuable alternative. Therefore, we developed and tried out a perceptual rating scale, consisting of five new parameters: impression, intelligibility, noise, fluency and voicing, each to be scored between 0 (very bad score) to 10 (very good score for a substitution voice). In analogy to the GRBAS scale, they are then converted to deviance scores ranging from 0 (similar to good substitution voicing) to 3 (very deviant from good substitution voicing). Inter-individual agreement measured in a set of 24 semi-professional jury members seemed to be moderate for all parameters. Mean figures of 0.52, 0.51, 0.46, 0.53 and 0.46 are obtained for the parameters impression, intelligibility, noise, fluency and voicing, respectively. Because a high correlation exists between the first two parameters (0.917) and relying on the correlation figures between the two "I"s and the other parameters (correlation values for "impression" vary from 0.79-0.86; values for "intelligibility" range from 0.74-0.83), we suggest to discard the parameter impression, which turns the actual IINFVo scale into INFVo. The proposed (I)INFVo perceptual rating scale seems promising for the assessment of substitution voicing. Eventual improvements and practical proposals are discussed.

Teachers work in a context that encourages them to differentiate high performing from low performing students, or rather easy-to-teach from hard and very hard-to-teach children. Once they understand children, teachers' professional judgments are the most reliable source of information about children's success or lack thereof in school. The intent of this study was to identify a screening instrument that would agree with teacher judgments in order to increase the relevance of educational programs for young children early in their educational experience. A group of children was observed and tested, and the results were compared to teacher judgments from kindergarten through third grade. Results were validated with a second group of kindergarten children. An instrument was identified that can be used by the teacher to gather behavior samples in a matter of minutes before s/he has had sufficient exposure to the child to make more informed decisions. Results were predictive of subsequent school performance in kindergarten through third grade.Educators of prekindergarten and kindergarten children find themselves in a dilemma when attempting to identify children who are at risk for learning difficulties. The screening of children entering kindergarten is mandated by state and federal laws (Public Law 99-457) in order to help find those who need further evaluation. The laws, however, do not provide guidelines for appropriate screening methods (Stavrou, Glassman, Kaiser, & McNeil, 1990). A primary consideration in choosing a screening instrument is the degree to which screening information relates to social and educational consequences for young children (Macmann,

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Educators in the early school grades often find themselves in a dilemma when evaluating children's skills. Formal testing procedures are often inappropriate for young children and can wrongly identify them as deficient. The purpose of this study was to help teachers in making early decisions regarding individual children that would be accurate and helpful in designing educational programs. A screener was identified during the first year that discriminated between kindergarten children identified by their teachers as high-achieving or low-achieving. The results of a subsequent cross-validation yielded a relationship between the screener and the teachers' evaluations that was statistically significant.