Gaps in achievement test scores continue to exist in students depending upon race, gender, income, and ethnicity according to the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an advocate for public schools. School districts and schools are struggling to close the achievement gap that exists. In the 2010-2011 school years, 34.4% of African American students…

Standard setting is a method used to set cut scores on large-scale assessments. One of the most popular standard setting methods is the Bookmark method. In the Bookmark method, panelists are asked to envision a response probability (RP) criterion and move through a booklet of ordered items based on a RP criterion. This study investigates whether…

The educational technologies of the past quarter century--from teaching machines to minimal competency testing--all share the general purpose of helping educators make better, or more uniform, decisions. The currently favored technique for shaping local decisions is criterion-referenced testing. Some criterion-referenced testers first find out how…

This study investigates relationships between assessment scores and other indicators of math performance. The impetus for the research came from a district's need to better understand high school math achievement. Longitudinal data for a cohort of students were obtained, including math scores from their state assessment, TerraNova, and New…

Curricular reform efforts are underway in many countries, focused on adopting inquiry-based approaches to teaching and learning. Therefore, it is increasingly important to understand what outcomes students attain in inquiry environments. Derived from a literature review, a 23-item, criterion-referenced inventory is presented for theoretically…

The authors examined the impact of 2 subsequent, longitudinal interdisciplinary interventions for 58 Hispanic English language learners (ELLs): (a) Grade 5 science with English language/reading embedded (i.e., science intervention) and (b) K-3 English language/reading with science embedded (i.e., language/reading intervention). Results revealed…

Analysis of children's productions of oral narratives provides a rich description of children's oral language skills. However, measures of narrative organization can be directly affected by both developmental and task-based performance constraints which can make a measure insensitive and inappropriate for a particular population and/or sampling…

This article reviews the "Developmental Reading Assessment--Second Edition" (DRA2), a teacher-administered assessment that identifies students' instructional level, along with their strengths and weaknesses in reading. Once teachers calculate and interpret scores, the data can purportedly be used to inform, and possibly individualize,…

Reading comprehension is a critical aspect of the reading process. Children who experience significant problems in reading comprehension are at risk for long-term academic and social problems. High-quality measures are needed for early, efficient, and effective identification of children in need of remediation in reading comprehension. Substantial…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a one-to-one laptop computer program on the literacy achievement of eighth-grade students with above average, average, and below average measured cognitive skill levels who are eligible and not eligible for free or reduced price lunch program participation. The study analyzed, student…

Gendered schooling is growing in the United States, but little research exists on single-sex classes in public elementary schools. This study sought to find out if single-sex classes in two elementary schools made a difference in boys' reading gains in 2008-2009, as judged by scores on the state's annual literacy test. In one school, boys in the…

In this report, student growth percentiles and percentile growth projections/trajectories are introduced as a means of understanding student growth in both normative and a criterion referenced ways. With these values calculated, the author shows how growth data can be utilized in both a norm- and in a criterion-referenced manner to inform…

On average, Austin Independent School District kindergarten English learner students (ELs) had lower scores on two types of early reading assessments (English, Spanish) at the end of the 2009-2010 school year than did non-ELs. For first graders, no significant difference was found between Spanish-speaking ELs and non-ELs on the test.

This quantitative correlational study examines the role of African American English (AAE) and literacy for Black American students who speak AAE. No previous research regarding Black American students who speak AAE has set out to determine whether or not viewing Black students who speak AAE as English second language learners (L2) would improve…

Reading is a skill, which is essential for a child's school success. The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to investigate the effects of the Reading Recovery (RR) Program. The data utilized were from two groups of students at-risk in the area of reading, first-grade students involved in at least 12 weeks of Reading…