The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of information processing and cognitive learning instructional strategies that were succinctly prescribed, scripted, and followed through in the Beyond the Basic Facts math program, which was uniformly implemented in a large, urban school district in the Central Valley of California in…

Increasing standardized test scores in reading and math is of high importance to the California Department of Education to meet requirements mandated by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act of 2001. More research is needed to understand the best ways to improve tests scores to meet concerns of the NCLB act. The purpose of the study was to evaluate…

In this era of education accountability, teachers are looking closely at grade level requirements and assessment of student performance. Grade retention is being considered for both students with and without disabilities if they are not meeting end of the year achievement benchmarks. Although research has shown that retention is not the best…

Improve students' writing skills and boost their assessment scores while adding arts education, creativity, and fun to your writing curriculum. With this vibrant resource, improving writing skills goes hand-in-hand with improving test scores. Students learn how to use acting and visualization as prewriting activities to help them connect writing…

In writing assessment, there are quite a number of factors influencing the marking stability and the reliability of the assessment such as the attitude towards marking and consistency of markers, the physical environment, the design of the items, and marking rubrics. Even the methods to train markers have effects on the reliability of the…

The study focused on the relationship of English proficiency and math performance in a sample of high school students, including 47% English language learners (ELLs). Data sources included state math test scores, study-specific pre- and posttest scores, problem solving in an online math tutorial, and responses to a self-report assessment of…

This study explored the effects of high-stakes testing and accountability on the fundamental practices associated with middle school philosophy. Participants were middle school educators, including administrators and teachers, from Pennsylvania middle schools. An online survey was used to collect data for this study. The survey addressed the…

This article presents the findings of a secondary analysis of the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 that explored the predictive association between training in access technology and performance on the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Academic Achievement: III. The results indicated that the use of access technology had a limited predictive…

The Key Learning Community in Indianapolis was the first school in the world to base its approach on the theory of multiple intelligences. Ms. Kunkel, Key's principal, reflects on the school's continuing growth and success--even in the face of pressures to standardize--and shares the history of its founding. (Contains 5 endnotes.)

Contemporary secondary education is marked by the standardization of both content and testing. The effect of this characterization on history, the humanities, and social studies results in a break from the spirit of these disciplines. Regarding history, the specific implications include objectification of causation and "the truth" about the past,…

In the United States as well as in much of the developed world, many of us tend to take for granted that children who do well on teacher-made and standardized tests are intelligent. But different cultures have different views of intelligence, so which children are considered intelligent may vary from one culture to another. Moreover, the acts that…

Recent data from 12 pairs of tests representing eight standardization samples show that American IQ gains have occurred at a rate of 0.308 points per year from 1972 to 2002. Linked with earlier IQ gains, Americans have gained about 22 points over the 70 years between 1932 and 2002. Comparing the new WISC-IV (2002) and the old WISC-III (1989) shows…

According to this author, it was inevitable that No Child Left Behind's emphasis on standardized testing and scientifically-based reading instruction would lead to a standardized curriculum. Programs such as Open Court, Success for All, and Direct Instruction further refined standardized curriculum to a scripted curriculum that requires teachers…

Two sets of predictions were compared concerning the ability of 20 adults with profound, severe, or moderate intellectual disabilities to learn 15 everyday tasks. Predictions were made by caregivers who had worked with the participants for a minimum of 24 months and consideration of participant performance on the Assessment of Basic Learning…

Purpose: The assumption that children with language impairment will receive low scores on standardized tests, and therefore that low scores will accurately identify these children, is examined through a review of data in the manuals of tests that are intended for use in identifying such children. Method: Data from 43 commercially available tests…