Most public K-12 schools in the United States enact a school improvement plan each year based upon the state testing results from the previous year. Despite the many frameworks, research, and recommendations, few scholars tackled what the plans contain and the results. Using a sequential explanatory mixed methods model, two stages examined school…

As online education becomes a more popular and permanent option for obtaining an education after high school, it also raises questions as to the academic rigor of such classes and the academic integrity of the students taking the classes. The purpose of the current study is to explore the integrity issue and to investigate student performance on…

Educational standardized testing impacts millions of children and educational professionals each year. In the current accountability climate, an effective educational system depends on professionals who are literate in assessment and can take the appropriate actions in response to test results. Measurement researchers should begin to focus more…

Educational systems in the United States are generating vast amounts of data on student achievement. This may provide researchers and policy makers with long sought-after insight on the factors explaining student performance. This study uses recent data from Washington 10th graders to examine why some students learned more math than others.…

This report provides information about the performance of Washington's 2016 graduating seniors who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors, or seniors; and self-reported at the time of testing that they were scheduled to graduate in 2016. Beginning with the Graduating Class of 2013, all students whose scores are college reportable, both standard and…

A representative sample of 122,000 eighth-graders participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science assessment, which is designed to measure students' knowledge and abilities in the areas of physical science, life science, and Earth and space sciences. This report covers the overall results, achievement level…

This paper profiles Washington's test score trends through 2008-09. Three years of comparable mean scale score data were not available from the state. In 2004, 77% of non-Title I 4th graders and 60% of Title I 4th graders scored at the proficient level on the state reading test. In 2009, 75% of non-Title I 4th graders and 61% of Title I 4th…

This report provides information about the performance of Washington's 2012 graduating seniors who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors, or seniors; and self-reported at the time of testing that they were scheduled to graduate in 2012 and tested under standard time conditions. This report focuses on: (1) Performance: student test performance in the…

Parent involvement is widely acknowledged as a central component in both overall school success and the academic success of individual children. Recognizing this, the federal No Child Left Behind Act mandates that states, districts and schools make extraordinary efforts to enhance effective parent involvement. Now, more than six years after the…

A FOLLOWUP STUDY WAS REPORTED THAT ENLARGED THE SCOPE OF THE AUTHOR'S PREVIOUS STUDY OF THE OPPOSITE-FORM APPROACH USED BY STUDENTS IN TEST AND MEASUREMENT COURSES. THE STUDY HAD THREE PURPOSES--(1) TO INVESTIGATE THE RELIABILITIES OF OPPOSITE-FORM INVENTORIES, (2) TO CROSS VALIDATE OPPOSITE-FORM INVENTORIES, AND (3) TO STUDY THE PATTERNING OF…

The research reported here is from the first two years of an ongoing and largely qualitative study to examine the impact of the No Child Left Behind federal education policy on educational practice and climate in elementary schools in two districts in southwest Washington. Based on systematic drop-in observations in classrooms and interviews with…

This reference guide is designed to give educators and other interested persons a better understanding of the information contained in the score reports from the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, the key measuring stick of the state's school improvement strategy. To do this, the guide is organized around the four basic form types used in…

Purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of the change-agent concept in the public school setting of Walla Walla, Washington. (Authors/CB)

The Washington State Legislature requires that a sample of public school eleventh grade students be tested at least once every 4 years in the basic skills of reading, language arts and mathematics. A statewide assessment of eleventh grade achievement was made in 1981 using the California Achievement Test Form C. This report describes the…

The 1983 annual report of Washington's statewide test of fourth grade basic skills achievement is presented in this document. Both state level and district-by-district results are reviewed. The first section of this report presents the overall results for the 48,000 fourth grade students who were administered the basic battery of the California…