Fifteen of the lowest-income neighborhoods in Cleveland (Ohio) are the focus of this report, which is concerned with the schooling of students in these 15 neighborhoods. These areas encompass most of the traditional, new, and emerging poverty areas identified in a previous report. Sixty public and 22 private and Catholic schools are examined in…

The literacy strategies in this guide provide practical suggestions for teachers, regardless of discipline, to help middle school and high school students move to Levels III and IV on the North Carolina End-of-Grade Reading/Competency Tests. The strategies in the guide are designed for use with "inefficient" readers (not nonreaders).…

This study focused on the relationship between high school students' course-taking patterns and their achievement of higher-order thinking skills. PLAN scores (in grade 10) and ACT Assessment scores (in grades 11 or 12) were collected for 73,818 students in 1,174 high schools. The findings show that, in a typical high school, eleventh- and…

This study investigated: (1) whether there is a gender effect in the speech of Japanese learners of English as a Second Language; (2) whether the effect is positive if the interlocutor is female; (3) whether there are associations of gender effect with specific features of speech; and (4) in which linguistic features of learner speech the gender…

Results of the National Center for Education Statistics' 1993-94 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) concerning identification of and services to limited-English-proficient (LEP) students are reported in narrative and tabular forms. The survey is the largest and most comprehensive data set available about schools in the United States. Highlights of…

A national survey of programs (N=798) for deaf students examined: (1) the organizational frameworks (theoretical or methodological) that programs use for reading instruction; (2) the extent to which "Reading Milestones," a basal series developed for deaf/hard-of-hearing (d/hh) students is used; (3) respondents' satisfaction with "Reading…

The research reported in this paper was conducted to gain information to guide the selection of standard setting procedures for use with polytomous items to set achievement levels on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments in U.S. History and geography. Standard-setting procedures were evaluated to determine the relative…

Opponents of school choice argue that economically advantaged families will get the best schools, and socioeconomic and racial segregation will only increase. If choice allows better matching of child to school, then parent information levels can critically affect the outcome. Very few data are available that directly confirm the presence or…

This study assessed the relative value of Bandura's (1977, 1982, 1986) self-efficacy theory and Rotter's (1966) locus of control model in predicting the career maturity of college students. A sample of 113 undergraduates (83 women and 30 men) completed a demographics questionnaire and measures of career decision-making (CDM) self-efficacy (Taylor…

The original National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been criticized for its limited ability to provide information that is useful at a variety of levels. As a result, Congress authorized a voluntary NAEP Trial State Assessment Program for the assessment of mathematics at grade 8 in 1990, reading at grade 4 in 1992, and mathematics…

Finnish university language centers are responsible for testing the foreign language proficiency of nearly all university students. It is important that students are assigned equitably to courses, including Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) courses. It is also important in LSP teaching for students' needs and opinions to be taken into account,…

A collaborative study group on teacher development of alternative assessments in mathematics and the sciences was cosponsored in the 1992-93 school year by the Virginia Educational Association and the Appalachia Educational Laboratory. Twenty-two teachers from 11 schools throughout Virginia worked with staff from the sponsoring organizations and…

The Physical Fitness Unit for grades K-12 of the Roslyn Public Schools in New York provides students with the knowledge to develop and maintain a level of health-related physical fitness both in and out of school that minimizes the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The unit teaches the interrelationship of physical fitness, exercise, and…

Since 1989 the Texas Education Agency has reported selected results from the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) of the College Board and the American College Testing Program's original and Enhanced ACT Assessment for prior year graduating seniors. This fifth annual report presents these data for the 1991-92 graduating class. Texas statewide and…

This article reports on a study of a new performance-based test mandate in the state of Arizona. The measurement-driven reform provided an opportunity to examine the interplay of policy and practice, specifically the use of testing to effect educational change. Attempts to reform schools through mandating assessments are categorized as behaviorist…