The Nation's Report Card [TM], the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), is a nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. For over three decades, assessments have been conducted periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing, history, geography, and…

This report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) presents results from the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) in mathematics. Representative samples of between 1,800 and 4,300 fourth- and eighth-grade public school students from 18 urban districts participated in the 2009 assessment. Eleven of the districts also…

Describes the creation of a theater-based program for eighth-grade students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (Georgia) Schools. Chronicles the efforts of playwright Ed Shockley to write a play focusing on teen violence and aimed at eighth-grade students. Concludes that the program and the play succeeded in accomplishing their goals. Relates three…

Policymakers and education leaders in Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states have been working since 2002 to meet all 12 "Challenge to Lead" Goals for Education. At the same time, SREB states have had to struggle with the toughest economic challenges in decades. Even so, SREB states have succeeded in achieving many of the goals…

Intended to familiarize persons with the scoring standards and criteria used for the 8th grade version of the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Writing Test, this scoring manual is in eight sections: (1) an introduction to the scoring dimensions and scale points; (2) definitions of the four scale points; (3) definitions of scoring dimensions and…

SREB states were among the first in the nation to set comprehensive state academic standards for K-12 schools. Setting these initial standards was only part of the job. Getting these standards right and keeping them right may be the most important task facing public education today. If state standards are too low, many public school graduates will…

Brains Rule! Neuroscience Expositions, funded through a National Institute on Drug Abuse Science Education Drug Abuse Partnership Award, has developed a successful model for informal neuroscience education. Each Exposition is a "reverse science fair" in which neuroscientists present short neuroscience teaching modules to students. This…

This is a curriculum guide for the preliminary edition of Volume III-B of Science For Georgia Schools, Junior High Earth Science. The course of study is designed for the eighth grade and includes selected topics from astronomy, meteorology, geology, oceanography, physical geography, and space travel. Topics are grouped under five units called (1)…

A study measured the effectiveness of the Channel One news program on student achievement in current events. Data were collected to measure the difference in current events knowledge between those students who viewed and discussed Channel One, and those students who had no access to the program. Data based on gender differences in student…

This study investigates the impact of America's Choice on student writing performance in Georgia. The analyses in this study focus on the change that occurred during the first year of implementation, the 2001-2002 school year. Two research questions guided these analyses: (1) What effect did Georgia's Choice have on the writing scores from the…

Discusses results of a study examining self-perceptions of students moving from middle level to high schools. Kids reported a significant drop in perceived physical appearance, job competence, romantic appeal, conduct, and global self-worth. A transition team can help eighth graders develop an understanding of the academic rigors and cocurricular…

This report, one of six volumes presenting the results of Georgia's statewide testing program, provides test results for the eight grade by school category and, within categories, by school. The categories, totaling 48 for individual schools and 48 for systems, were devised in an effort to make comparisons between schools and systems more…

Rater errors (rater severity, halo effect, central tendency, and restriction of range) are described, and criteria are presented for evaluating rating quality based on a many-faceted Rasch (FACETS) model. Ratings of 264 compositions from the Eighth Grade Writing Test in Georgia by 15 raters illustrate the discussion. (SLD)

"Saxon Elementary School Math," published by Harcourt Achieve, is a core curriculum for students in kindergarten through grade 5. A distinguishing feature of "Saxon Elementary School Math" is its use of a distributed approach, as opposed to a chapter-based approach, for instruction and assessment. The program is built on the…

Research conducted in Georgia reveals that pupils in school buildings with modern facilities attain higher achievement than pupils in buildings with older facilities. All public schools in Georgia containing eighth grade students were classified as non-modernized, partially modernized, or modern according to results of questionnaires administered…