The structure and construct validity of the California Preschool Social Competency Scale as used with disadvantaged children (N = 1,723) in New York State was investigated through factor analysis. Five factors were extracted and interpreted as (1) Considerateness; (2) Extraversion; (3) Task Orientation; (4) Verbal Facility; and (5) Response to the Unfamiliar. The first three of these were found to be empirically similar to the three dimensions of the Classroom Behavior Inventory. These three factors plus the fourth, Verbal Facility, appeared to be conceptually similar to factors isolated in a number of other research-based social competency scales.

A trend toward providing educational experiences for preschool children has been evident in recent years. The trend raises a number of policy issues. Who should be served? What kinds of programs are most effective? Should preschool programs be administered by the public schools? An evaluation of the New York State Experimental Prekindergarten Program provides evidence of the effectiveness of one early childhood education program in improving performance of disadvantaged children and in increasing the likelihood that effects will persist over time. Major components of the program are an instructional program for 4-year-olds, comprehensive noninstructional services, involvement of parents, and staff development to increase continuity of learning experiences of children from prekindergarten through the primary grades. It was found that (1) prekindergarten favorably affected children's cognitive and noncognitive performance; (2) involvement of parents augmented the favorable impact of prekindergarten; (3) prekindergarten reduced the possibility that a child would repeat a grade or would require special education; and (4) increasing the continuity of learning experiences of children helped maintain the effects of the prekindergarten program in the primary grades. The results indicate that a comprehensive early childhood education program, operated by the public schools, can improve the performance of disadvantaged children.

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A FORTRAN V program is cited that quickly and accurately scores large numbers of Peabody Picture Vocabulary Tests.EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT 1978, 38 WITH the wide use of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) for program evaluation, the time required for scoring large numbers of tests by hand may be a problem. Moreover, Dunn's (1967) complex procedures lead to errors in administering the test and scoring the responses.A FORTRAN V program, which reads the subject's responses from computer cards, was developed to score the PPVT. When given a properly administered PPVT, the program scores it according to the procedures established by Dunn. This scoring includes the unusual situations of a student's responses containing no basal even though the first item was administered, two basals, and two ceilings. In cases where a basal or ceiling was not established during test administration, the program will assume a basal or ceiling, print the problem, and score the student's responses.