The field trip is probably one of the most common out-of-classroom learning experiences students encounter. Teachers provide these experiences for a variety of reasons including motivation, exposure, and even as a reward, especially after weeks of standardized testing. Although teachers may report that a primary reason for including the field trip…

Background: Before a school speech-language pathologist (SLP) utilises a standardised speech-language test with a student with intellectual disability (ID), the clinician should carefully consider the purpose of the test and whether the test includes students with ID in the normative group. Method: This project reviewed 49 tests published between…

In this article, the author features Todd Eric Allen, an acclaimed ballet dancer, who returns home to Florida's so-called Redneck Riviera and opens a magnet school for dance. When asked the inevitable question of what an internationally known ballet dancer is doing teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in Fort Walton Beach, he simply replies in a way…

The author argues that American educators rely on standardized tests at too early an age when administered in kindergarten, particularly given the original intent of kindergarten as envisioned by its founder, Friedrich Froebel. The author examines the current use of standardized tests in kindergarten and the Froebel model, including his emphasis…

In this article, the author discusses the No Child Left Behind (NCLB)-required testing and privatization in public education. The author points out that the NCLB is not a step in the right direction. It is a deeply damaging, mostly ill-intentioned law, and no one genuinely committed to improving public schools (or to advancing the interests of…

Universities have the potential to make significant contributions to their neighboring schools and youth agencies through university-community partnerships and the programs they spawn. However, even with proven goals, trained staff, and eager students, collaborative physical-activity-based youth development programs can fail despite the best…

The authors assert that vocabulary development is one of the most important things teachers can promote for students--cognitively, culturally, socially, and in preparation for standardized tests. A broad-based review of the literature reveals solid reasons for using systematic vocabulary instruction, which is especially helpful with youngsters…

Most educators agree that the primary criterion of school success is the ongoing growth and achievement of every student even in the midst of constant debate about the state of the US education and conflicting opinions regarding the value of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Standardized tests have their place, but computerized adaptive testing aimed…

This article offers an explanation of standardized tests so that parents may understand the significance of their children's tests scores. Definitions of terms such as "percentile ranking," "norming group" and "criterion-referenced" are given. The author also questions the validity of high-stakes tests as a true…

Because of the requirement of reporting effect sizes and in the interest of measurement of change within the item response theory framework, their combination becomes a new issue. In the present study, repeated measures are decomposed as an initial ability and one or more modifiabilities (gain score) using a multidimensional Rasch model. The…

The research reported in this paper took place at an Hispanic-serving, public community college and examined the effects of alternative institutional placement policies on student academic success. Results showed that when placement methods considered multiple measures of academic preparedness, students were initially placed into higher level…

Background: The burden of HIV/AIDS has not been described for certain rural areas of the United States (Appalachia, the Southeast Region, the Mississippi Delta, and the US-Mexico Border), where barriers to receiving HIV services include rural residence, poverty, unemployment, and lack of education. Methods: We used data from Centers for Disease…

The authors attempted to determine the effects of a high-stakes standardized testing-driven instructional approach on mathematical performance. The authors developed a multiple-choice mathematics performance test for 1,006 Grade 4 students in 28 North Cyprus schools. Analysis revealed that students who spent more time on test-taking skills…

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test data reveals the current state of high-school student proficiency and standardized test results across the nation. This information also dramatically demonstrates what is at stake as concerns about closing achievement gaps heighten.

National Board Certification represents one of the most significant reform efforts in the area of teacher quality in the last two decades. Since the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certified its first round of teachers in 1995, approximately 32,000 teachers have become certified at a cost to the country of well over $300…