The Michigan Educational Assessment Program presents an untimed, 70-question Social Studies Test (Form 35) for grade 4 students to assess social studies skills. This document contains the test booklet only. (PN)

Categorizes students' self-selected topics in a state writing assessment. Finds that fifth graders chose "animals"; eighth graders chose "sports"; high-school students chose "social problems" and "sports" until twelfth grade, when "school/learning" issues replaced "sports." (RS)

This evaluation tested the effectiveness of a drug education program among primary and intermediate level students in a Wisconsin area. While the outcomes of this report are significant to educators in Wisconsin, the specificity of methodology and instrumentation is of potential value to other groups wishing to determine the effectiveness of their…

This study was conducted to measure value added school effects in a Northwest urban public school district using a two-level hierarchical model. The model consisted of two student-level variables (prior achievement and eligibility for federal free or reduced-price lunch) and three school variables (percentage of students eligible for free or…

Examined a scoring anomaly that became apparent in a state-mandated writing assessment. Results for 3,660 essays by sixth graders show that using a spiral model for training raters and scoring papers results in higher mean ratings than does using a sequential model for training and scoring. Findings demonstrate the importance of making decisions…

This two-part document contains a spelling word list compiled by the Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools (California) for use in the California State Elementary Spelling Championship competition, along with information for planning and conducting spelling bees. The spelling word list (also intended for use in the regional competitions) is a…

Evaluation studies on the long-term achievement of early intervention program participants have often found that initial student achievement gains for many students dissipate in subsequent years. This study offers some possible explanations for achievement "fadeout" and examines this phenomenon in relation to Exceptional Student…

This report contains the results from the first administration of the fourth and sixth grade science and social studies portions of the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP). As such, they are an important part of the state's efforts to educate all students to a higher level. Science and social studies data for grades 4 and 6 are summarized…

A survey of 340 7th- and 8th-grade home economics teachers and supervisors received 280 responses indicating they were highly receptive to New York State's Home and Family Curriculum and had implemented it. Receptivity was related to perception of status benefits such as competence, inservice training, increased resources, and job security. (SK)

This report analyzes the experiences of 27 states selected to participate in Carnegie Corporation of New York's Middle Grade School State Policy Initiative (MGSSPI), a 3-year grant program to states to stimulate fundamental reform in schools serving 10- to 15-year old students. MGSSPI states are working to radically transform the education…

This test booklet contains 50 multiple choice items testing sixth grade social studies achievement. The test was administered by the Alberta (Canada) Department of Education in June 1985. The items concern early civilizations, Southeast Asia, and regulation by the government. Fifty minutes are allowed to complete this test. (GDC)

First-year outcomes of a restructuring project in four Maryland middle schools are summarized in this paper, with a focus on new rules, roles, and relationships. Methodology involved interviews with 52 teachers and building administrators and 18 state department of education staff members; observation of school improvement teams; and document…

This publication represents a model for the Natural Science Education Curriculum for grades five through eight in Delaware's schools. This guide is meant to serve as a minimal standard for natural science education, but at the same time strives for maximum output of the natural science program. The guide is based on the processes of science…

This report examines the implementation of standards-based reform in Washington and whether the reform strategy has worked. The report is based on a survey of two statewide samples of elementary schools at which students had taken the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) fourth-grade test in 1997 and 1998. The first was a sample of 30…

This test booklet contains items testing sixth grade social studies achievement. The test was administered by the Alberta (Canada) Department of Education in June 1985. Ten short-answer items are included, as well as an essay question. Three pages are allowed for the essay question, and forty minutes are allowed to complete the entire test. The…