Findings of a study that investigated the relationship between the socioeconomic characteristics of Ohio school districts and district test performance are presented in this paper. Methodology involved ANOVA analyses of data derived from the 611 Ohio school districts that participated in the state's 1989-90 testing program. The independent…

A pilot study systematically collected classroom assessment data in reading and compared that data to the students' test scores on the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP). A total of 61 teachers in 18 New York City public elementary schools gathered the data for 268 students in grades 2 through 6. Teachers identified the books their children could…

The curriculum-embedded procedures used to construct, validate, and refine assessment tasks for mathematics are described and discussed. Curriculum-embedded assessment places assessment tasks in the day-to-day context of the classroom. The test of a curriculum-embedded task is whether it could be regarded as curriculum material per se. In…

This study compared teacher-rated classroom ability groupings with total reading scores reported on standardized tests. Kindergarten teachers divided their students into three groups according to how well they had mastered a set of criteria which the teachers felt represented the successful reader and writer at the end of kindergarten. Results…

This summary provides a record of the proceedings of a workshop series and Wingspread Conference that were part of a series of events relating to child and family policy issues sponsored by the National Forum on the Future of Children and Families. Chapter 1 introduces the issues related to young children and academic achievement. Chapter 2…

This book is directed toward all persons taking tests and examinations at school, for a new job, for college or university entrance, or for promotion. Topics discussed include: things students should ask themselves before taking a test, the difference between tests and examinations, ways of feeling good about a test or examination, tactics and…

In schools today, tests are being used for a variety of reasons, such as an indication of school accountability and also to track students, label them, or place them in specialized programs. Excessive dependence on test outcomes can adversely effect students' educational goals and contribute to their disengagement from education, because (among…

How art education has evolved to become similar to academic subjects and the art education movement trend toward core curriculum membership (CCM) is the topic of this paper. The approach to art testing methods is used as an example of how qualification, accountability, and predictability of learning outcomes are being employed to legitimate art…

In 1990-91, the second year of Alaska's statewide testing program, the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills was administered to 24,684 Alaskan public school students in grades 4, 6, and 8. The nationally normed achievement test covered reading, mathematics, and language arts. Most students in grades 6 and 8 scored above the 50th percentile in all subjects,…

This investigation revives direct impact explanations of single-parent effects on student performance by further disagreggation by sex of the student. The effect of living in a single-parent household on the standardized test scores of students was estimated separately for males and females through analyses of data from the High School and Beyond…

A collection of six essays focuses on second language instruction for adult learners. In "Modern Languages and the Adult Student" (David Smith), the motivations of adults taking evening classes are examined and the ways in which language teachers need to adjust to this population are discussed. "Language Learning Theories and Their Implications…

Because previous research on long-term effects of Outward Bound programs has been contradictory, a study to analyze the impact of the Dartmouth College Outward Bound Center's Living/Learning Term program on undergraduate participants used a comprehensive battery of nine inventories to measure the effects of Outward Bound over time. The battery of…

The Berkeley Reading Tests Project has selected as its principal object of study standardized tests of reading comprehension. The interest is in the assessment of such tests, with respect to their performance as measures of the reading comprehension abilities of school children. A serious study of the assessment of reading comprehension requires…

This report summarizes information about student achievement, student opportunity to learn in science and mathematics, and student variables relating to that achievement for elementary and secondary students in the state of Illinois. Five tests were used for the basis of this report: The Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress, the American…

Studies and analyses conducted by the Assessment Center at Sacramento City College (SCC) during 1983 resulted in the data on SCC's students and services presented in this report. After section I sets forth the purpose of the report and section II reviews trends and priorities revealed by the center's activities, section III provides a statistical…