Fulfilling a legislative mandate in 1984, Connecticut established mastery tests in mathematics and language arts (listening, reading, and writing skills) for grades 4, 6, and 8. Criterion-referenced tests were considered most appropriate for assessing achievement and determining individual remediation needs. The Grade 8 Mastery Test results for…

Information on current trends and issues in English instruction, compiled by the directors of six National Council of Teachers of English commissions, is presented in this report, the eighth annual report by the commissions. The commissions and their directors represented in the report are: (1) Commission on Reading (Patrick Shannon); (2)…

This document consists of the two issues of "Dialog on Language Instruction" (DLI) published during 1987. The following articles appear in these issues of this "occasional" internal publication: "Foreign Language Technology in the 21st Century" (Frank Otto); "Cultural Distance and the Foreign Language…

This bibliography lists instructional materials for teaching adult learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). The resources listed are print materials made available through the Free Library of Philadelphia's Reader Development Program. All are on or below the eighth grade reading level, as determined with the Gunning Fog readability formula.…

A study examined a new collaborative consultation process to enhance the classroom implementation of whole language science units that make use of computers and multimedia resources. The overall program was divided into three projects, two at the fifth-grade level and one at the third grade level. Each project was staffed by a team of one…

These four 1989 issues of the journal of the Society for Accelerated Learning and Teaching (SALT) include the following articles: "Retraining Cognitive Abilities: Combining Suggestopedia with Cognitive Behavior Modification"; "Students Discover the Joy of Learning Through Suggestopedia"; "Elementary School Achievement…

This paper analyzes 19 studies that were considered by the National Institute of Education's panel on the effects of school desegregation in order to determine desegregation's effect on black achievement, black self-esteem, and racial relations. It is stated that, overall, the results show that reading achievement improves somewhat as a result of…

In 1984, the Commissions on Composition, Curriculum, Language, Literature, Media, and Reading of the National Council of Teachers of English presented reports on important educational trends and issues. The Commission on Language suggested that the move toward curriculum reform stemming from national reports on quality in education could have…

Intended both to evaluate the California testing program's success in assessing student achievement in the basic skills and to suggest possible improvements in the program, this report includes an executive summary evaluating current testing procedures, describing experimental studies on new ways of testing and reporting testing information, and…

The New York State core curriculum for English as a second language (ESL) in the secondary schools, which is a recommended minimum inventory of areas to be covered, is presented. The curriculum is divided into four instructional levels: beginning, intermediate, advanced, and transitional. At each level, language skills are further subdivided into…

The purpose of these seven handbooks (one for each grade from kindergarten through grade six) is to provide parents with information about their child's school and about the basic instructional requirements of the school. Most of the information in each handbook is identical to all the others and has been included to maintain the continuity of the…

This report describes the development, operation, maintenance, and future prospects of the item banks pioneered by the Portland (Oregon) School District. At the time of this report, there were 3,500 mathematics, 2,200 reading, and 2,300 language usage items calibrated under the fixed parameter model of item response theory (IRT) for Grades 3-8.…

Education records of 1,193 inmates who enrolled in a county prison corrections education program in Pennsylvania from January 1981 through December 1988 were used to evaluate the outcomes of the program. The number of years of formal education, education program placement test scores, end of class cycle test scores, student's stated goal or…

This outline decribes the Rehabilitation Prevocational Support Service program at Northwest Community College (Alabama), designed to help prepare selected students for occupational training programs or job placement and to enhance their academic level. Students are assigned to individualized learning modules based on pretesting by a variety of…

The evaluation process and results of the 1989-1990 secondary school (grades 6 through 12) English language arts program of the Des Moines (Iowa) Independent Community School District are presented. This evaluation gathers, focuses, and communicates information that is useful for continuously monitoring the quality of the language arts program.…