Study investigated the effectiveness of four instructional strategies on secondary students' argumentative writing, noting how different essay qualities influenced holistic scoring. Researchers found no significant differences in instructional strategy effectiveness or use of holistic scoring. Students' prior knowledge affected their ability to…

Surveys of drug and alcohol use conducted with 4,367 Mexican-American and 3,790 White non-Hispanic eighth and twelfth graders from similar communities find generally higher rates of substance use by Mexican Americans based on lifetime prevalence and last reported use and higher frequency of high risk drug behaviors. (SLD)

Figural response items (FRIs) in science were administered to 347 fourth graders, 365 eighth graders, and 322 twelfth graders. Item and test statistics from parallel FRIs and multiple-choice questions illustrate FRIs' more difficult and more discriminating nature. Relevance of guessing to FRIs and diagnostic value of the item type are highlighted.…

Describes a twelfth grade oral-history teaching project with multi-ethnic U.S. history senior students. Stresses that the project helps students think about and understand today's world by developing historical understanding. Activities include designing questionnaires, conducting interviews, writing biographical sketches, and producing a…

The working memory hypothesis that the development of span in children is related to increasing proficiency in the use of an articulatory loop was tested in two studies with 120 Canadian children in grades 5 and 6 and 11 and 12. Some support was found for the hypothesis. (SLD)

Results are presented of an evaluation of effects of the within-classroom component of the Second International Science Study on science learning processes and products at the twelfth-grade level in Hong Kong. Partial Least Squares Path (PLSPATH) analysis is used to model the data obtained from 6,103 students in 217 classrooms. (SLD)

The performance of 254 Israeli twelfth graders on multiple-choice tests with positive or negative item stems was studied. For items requiring low cognitive reasoning, performance does not differ, but, for items requiring high cognitive reasoning, the negative mode is more difficult. Implications for test construction are discussed. (SLD)

The use of student-led discussions, or literature circles, offers the potential to engage all students through a more democratic, dialogic approach. The central goal of this research was to understand how adolescents practise literacy within the context of a peer reading group, and how gender impacts these practices. Transcripts of student-led…

Assessment is a cornerstone of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA), and development of appropriate assessments for grades 4, 8, and 12 has been a major focus of KERA implementation. This paper explores the development of performance events, portfolio assessments, and open-ended questions, with an emphasis on open-ended questions and…

This publication provides information on Ohio's Postsecondary Enrollment Options Program (PEOP) through a synopsis of program rules and answers to frequently asked questions about the program. The PEOP was established to permit high school students in grades 11 and 12 to earn college and high school graduation credit through the successful…

This report describes a practicum which was designed to effect a significant increase in the number of students at a suburban high school who were both aware of and capable of using the online catalog and the CD-ROM reference systems, and who could also successfully communicate via electronic mail through a free network offered by the county…

The material in this unit is designed to introduce students to the origin and role of ideas in history, especially their role in the lives of ordinary people, in the rapidly industrializing United States of the 19th century. These lessons concern Americans in the great age of industrialization, from 1850 to 1900. Unit objectives include: (1)…

The Multidimensional Motivation Instrument and the Classroom Environment Scale were used to examine the effects of the variables motivation (achievement motivation, academic self-concept, social self-concept, and emotional self-concept) and the classroom learning environment (involvement, affiliation, teacher support, task orientation, order and…

A total of 271 students in the 2nd, 7th, and 12th grades from the midwest, northeast, and southeast regions of the United States were surveyed. The survey consisted of fact-based questions about the recent events in the Persian Gulf, and questions designed to elicit value judgments about the international role and current leaders of the United…

In this non-experimental study, a model was developed for portfolio assessment based on definitions and applications in the assessment literature. This model describes portfolio components, scores to be computed, and uses to be made of the scores. The literature was then reviewed to find examples of actual applications that would provide realistic…