Ten suggestions to help students increase standardized test scores include: read directions carefully; peek at the questions before reading stories or articles; note key words; use parts of questions to help plan answers; look back at the text; think before writing; write clearly and legibly; pay attention to how the test is scored; manage time…

Suggests that because of the nonlinear relationship between item usage and item security, the problems of test security posed by continuous administration of standardized tests cannot be resolved merely by increasing the size of the item pool. Offers alternative strategies to overcome these problems, distributing test items so as to avoid the…

The validity and accuracy of self-reported Graduate Record Examination standardized test scores were examined for a national sample of 1,408 college students. Overall, high correlations between actual and student-reported scores and high accuracy rates were found. Differences in accuracy rates were associated with low student performance on the…

Although surveys indicate that teachers recognize the value of standards and high expectations, they also reveal that reforms such as standardized tests influence instructional practices in negative ways. Debate should not focus on whether to have standards but on the way standards-based reform is implemented in practice. (SK)

A growing issue in school finance adequacy relates to the condition of school facilities and the role that the condition of those facilities plays in student learning. Using the results of standardized test scores from Wyoming students and a detailed assessment of every school building in the state of Wyoming, it can be concluded that there is…

The black-white gap in achievement, as measured by performance on standardized tests, has received considerable attention from researchers in the past five years. Claude Steele's stereotype threat and disidentification mechanism is perhaps the most heralded of the new explanations for residual racial differences that persist after adjustments for…

Many teachers gaze in wonder at the professional teaching standards to which they are expected to adhere. Such standards too often ask more of teachers than they can possibly deliver. It is especially disconcerting that teaching standards are actually at odds with an educational environment dominated by ill-conceived accountability schemes and…

Despite heightened scrutiny of the use of standardized tests in college admissions, there has been little public empirical analysis of the effects of an optional SAT score submission policy on college admissions. This paper examines the results of the decision by Mount Holyoke College to make SAT scores optional in the admissions process. We find…

Two models are presented in this article for estimating the proportion of students who would pass all of three or more content area tests given that none have actually been tested in more than two of the content areas. The first model allows one to estimate the proportion of students who would pass all of three or more content area tests from the…

Test sessions and child clinical interviews offer opportunities for direct observations of children's behavior in controlled settings. Moreover, standardized instruments for test session and interview observations offer more reliable and valid assessment methods than do anecdotal reports. This article reviews characteristics and psychometric…

Founded in 1983, the Center for Gifted at National-Louis University in Evanston, Illinois "www.thecenterforgifted.com/" offers outside-of-school classes for bright children. Through its 15 programs in 10 Chicago suburbs, the Center now serves more than 3000 talented young people in pre-kindergarten through 10th grades. Although not…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the use of a method of distractor analysis for diagnosing item error response patterns and determine the effect of this intervention on student achievement levels on state administered spring mathematics assessments. Distractor Pattern Functioning was the treatment provided to teachers in this…

In England, the "Every Child Matters" (ECM) initiative has driven important changes in educational services in order to support five key outcomes for children and young people identified by the ECM initiative, namely to "be healthy", to "stay safe", to "enjoy and achieve", to "make a positive…

Forty five percent of the students' receiving Title I funds in urban lower class inner city schools and 20% of the students not receiving Title I funds in American public schools are reading below proficient on standardized tests. The goal of No Child Left Behind Legislation was to make sure that 95% of all students are reading at a proficient…

Presented at the College Board Western Regional Office (WRO) Forum in San Diego in February 2009. This presentation explores SAT test validity and how it can be used to inform both advisement and placement at the national or institution level. Institutional validity can be measured using the Admitted Class Evaluation Service (ACES) which schools…