The Archdiocese of Indianapolis has been using the Sander's value-added model to determine if they have had gains in student achievement in language arts, mathematics and reading. The article summarizes the method to make this determination and the results from three years of testing using the CTB McGraw-Hill Terre Nova test. The archdiocese has…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibility of using the principle of "superposition of states" (commonly illustrated by Schrodinger's Cat experiment) to understand the process of using standardized testing to measure a student's learning. Comparisons from literature, neuroscience, and Schema Theory will be used to expound upon the…

This article looks at current research concerning how students best learn the discipline of history, commentaries both in favor of and against standardized testing, and basic philosophical beliefs about the discipline. It explains methods of how to incorporate differentiated lessons and performance based assessments to NCLB standards and…

Recently NWEA completed a project to connect the scale of the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) with NWEA's RIT scale. One large school system participated in the study, using test information from a group of over 24,000 students enrolled in third, fourth and fifth grade who took both the MSA and NWEA reading tests in the spring of 2005.…

In an effort to hold schools accountable, Arkansas added grade inflation into the accountability system. The Arkansas Legislature mandated that the Arkansas Department of Education identify high schools with "statistically significant variance" between students' grade point averages (GPAs) and ACT performances. A grade inflation index…

This report describes the PLATO integration strategies used by Mashpee High School in Mashpee, MA to improve student performance on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test, the state's skill exam. The MCAS test covers two areas, mathematics and English, and is tied to high school graduation. Mashpee High School's efforts and…

This demonstration booklet illustrates the kind of exercises, test questions, and tasks used in the 2003 assessment of student achievement in reading and mathematics by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Each student will be asked to complete the background section and the cognitive sections for one subject, and the assessment…

This demonstration booklet illustrates the kind of exercises, test questions, and tasks used in the 2003 assessment of student achievement in reading and mathematics by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Each student will be asked to complete the background section and the cognitive sections for one subject, and the assessment…

This demonstration booklet illustrates the kind of exercises, test questions, and tasks used in the 2003 assessment of student achievement in reading and mathematics by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Each student will be asked to complete the background section and the cognitive sections for one subject, and the assessment…

This demonstration booklet illustrates the kind of exercises or test questions and tasks used in the assessment of student achievement in reading and writing by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for 2002. Each student will be asked to complete the background section and the cognitive sections for one subject, and the…

This demonstration booklet illustrates the kind of exercises or test questions and tasks used in the assessment of student achievement in reading and writing by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for 2002. Each student will be asked to complete the background section and the cognitive sections for one subject, and the…

This demonstration booklet illustrates the kind of exercises or test questions and tasks used in the assessment of student achievement in reading and writing by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for 2002. Each student will be asked to complete the background section and the cognitive sections for one subject, and the…

Greater use of employment tests for selecting workers will mean that rewards for developing competencies measured by the tests will rise, increasing the supply of workers with the skills. Greater use of tests to select workers will also change the sorting of workers across jobs. The impact on total output will depend on the extent to which the…

The state in which the target school is located recently mandated a standardized examination to assess academic progress in high schools. This sparked the interest of the target schools administration and teachers in finding ways to assist students in improving standardized examination performance. A comparison group of 4 classes of approximately…

Recent legislation and education initiatives in the United States have emphasized the role of high-stakes testing in reform movements designed to increase accountability for schools and improve student achievement. This digest suggests that because English language learners (ELLs) represent an increasing percentage of students enrolled in U.S.…