Drawing on archival sources, interviews, and research literature, this article offers new insights into the making, structure and long-term effects of the International Educational Indicators (INES) programme of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The article argues that INES was crucial in setting the OECD on the…

Drawing from two international measures, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMSS) and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), this brief provides a snapshot comparison of the United States to other education systems. Specifically, this brief addresses how the U.S. compares to other countries in overall…

This study followed the comparative research mode of description, interpretation, juxtaposition and comparison. Based on the literatures and data collected on the topic, the paper compared and analyzed the past, present and future of APTHS (academic proficiency test for high schools) in the two countries. Some contemplations on the common issues…

Austin Independent School District (AISD) student outcomes on attendance, discipline, Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores, and GPA were compared between students who participated and students who did not participate in Afterschool Centers on Education programs at AISD campuses during the 2010-2011 school year.

This article reviews the "Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition" (WIAT-III), a newly updated individual measure of academic achievement for students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 (age 4 years, 0 months to 19 years, 11 months). Suitable for use in educational, clinical, and research settings, the stated purposes of the WIAT-III…

Good verbal skills are crucial for success in school and in many career fields. Project LIVE was a program of enrichment and acceleration focused on the development of verbal talent. It was implemented for 3 years with a group of middle-school students who indicated an above-grade-level reading proficiency and came from families having…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the washback effects of the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) on English teaching in two applied foreign language departments in Taiwan. One had prescribed its GEPT requirement to its day-division students whereas the other had not. Overall, the GEPT did not induce a high level of washback on…

This paper reports data from the evaluation of the numeracy component of a long-running educational intervention, covering the period from 2001 to 2008. "QuickSmart" is both an intervention and research project operating in Australian schools. It is a structured intervention program designed for middle-school students (ages 10 to 13…

Many articles and reports have reviewed, researched, and commented on international assessments from the perspective of exploring what is relevant for the United States' education systems. Researchers make claims about whether the top-performing systems have transferable practices or policies that could be applied to the United States. However,…

The assessment programs of Alberta Education (Canada) are described, and the principles that guide these programs are reviewed. Alberta is committed to authentic assessment in its three major assessment programs: (1) the Diploma Examinations Program for certification in specific courses at the end of high school; (2) the Achievement Testing…

The College Board's Advanced Placement Program was founded in 1955 to provide high school students an opportunity to take on the challenges of college-level work while still in high school. For 46 years, students have enrolled in AP courses, taken rigorous end-of-course AP Examinations to demonstrate their achievement, and frequently have received…

Offers a report on Visions for Children--an early childhood demonstration program with the goal of facilitating intellectual development and academic achievement and enhancing self-concepts of African-American preschoolers. Base-line data from the first two phases of child testing comparing program participants and control group children is…

For the past 8 years, Research for Better Schools, Inc. (RBS) has prepared an analysis of state-wide trends in student achievement in the mid-Atlantic states (i.e., Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). For this year, instead of quantitatively examining trends in student achievement scores, RBS decided to…

In 1985-86, reading was identified as the supplemental instructional area of the Albuquerque (New Mexico) Public Schools (APS) for funding under the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act, Chapter 1. In all, 39 elementary schools, 13 middle schools, and 4 high schools in the APS qualified for Chapter 1 services; 4,317 elementary school…

Higher Horizons 100 (HH 100) is a compensatory program in the Hartford, Connecticut public schools designed to provide underachieving and undermotivated secondary school students with an integrated program of academic, cultural, and counseling services. HH 100 services were designed to develop and improve the basic skills of language and…