Blog

We are proud to announce the new Call for Research published by Pearson Clinical Assessment. Our goal is to ensure that Pearson assessments comply with the highest standards of quality and support research that investigates the validity or efficacy of our products. We are inviting United States-based faculty members, graduate students, and qualified researchers to submit their proposals no later than August 16, 2024.

If you're an occupational or physical therapist, you probably spend a lot of your day thinking, talking, and reading about motor skills. But have you ever come across the term “Fundamental Movement Skills”? Until recently, I hadn't, but it turns out there is a whole body of literature devoted to studying and discussing this construct that is, well, fundamental to children's ability to engage in play, recreation and activities of daily life. Sounds pretty relevant to what we do, right?

Over the last ten years, the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-3), a leading developmental assessment for children ages 1–42 months, has been referenced as an endpoint in 145 clinical trials (Citeline, 2024). Of those, 6.21% have included sites in the Finno-Ugric countries of Estonia, Finland, and Hungary.

It's early morning, the sun is barely rising, and your only desire is a cup of coffee to kickstart your day. As you head toward the kitchen, a fresh plan brewing in your mind, your phone buzzes and it’s an email from work! Could it be important? You decide to check. Turns out, it's only spam, so you quickly delete it and continue to the kitchen. But then you pause, your mind suddenly drawing a blank.

Literacy is the cornerstone of academic achievement, career success and lifelong learning. Yet, despite its undeniable importance, access to quality reading education remains inequitable, plagued by systemic issues and barriers that can hinder educational opportunities. In many cases, a student’s success is determined by the school they attend or who governs their school board.

But reading is not merely a skill: It is a fundamental right every citizen deserves, regardless of their background, socioeconomic status or individual challenges. 

There’s a lot happening over here as we develop the new WAIS-5. We wanted to share our latest updates as we get closer to releasing this new assessment. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale®, Fifth Edition (WAIS®-5) is the most advanced psychometric measure of cognitive abilities and now it can be administered in less time. And that is not all! WAIS-5 also features updated norms, expanded clinical utility, and improved user experience.

Check out the latest details on these enhancements, plus learn about five of the new subtests.

The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency™, Third Edition (BOT™-3) is here, so we sat down with authors, Drs. Brett and Bob Bruininks, to talk about the customer- and research-led updates to this widely used motor skills assessment.

The steady integration of technology in the classroom has ushered in a proliferation of digital assessments, which offer immense promise to reduce educator workloads and give them better insight into their students’ unique learning needs. Yet for all the ease they provide, digital assessments shouldn’t be deployed as a plug-and-play solution, at least initially. Without proper preparation, you run the risk of yielding inaccurate results, technical difficulties and even testing irregularities.

Districts considering digital assessments should realize that the outcomes will only be as strong as the efforts they invest in professional development for the educators using them. Comprehensive training should cover big-picture issues, such as how to choose the most relevant assessment, work as a team, and appropriately analyze and apply the insights gleaned. It also should include logistical components, like standardizing administration, navigating the online testing platform, troubleshooting issues, utilizing accessibility features and upholding security protocols.