Federal and state legislation has placed a renewed emphasis on accountability and academic outcomes among students who are deaf or hard of hearing. While much attention is given to norm-referenced standardized testing accommodations, there is a need for functional formative assessments for the purpose of monitoring students' academic progress.…

The authors assert that vocabulary development is one of the most important things teachers can promote for students--cognitively, culturally, socially, and in preparation for standardized tests. A broad-based review of the literature reveals solid reasons for using systematic vocabulary instruction, which is especially helpful with youngsters…

Purpose: The present paper is geared to help speech-language pathologists and other members of the school-based teams to become acquainted with the new educational structure and context in schools today as driven by NCLB [No Child Left Behind Act], and thus, be better prepared to meet the needs of CLD [Culturally and Linguistically Diverse]…

Immigration and migration to New York City (NYC) collectively create a dynamic population of students. In this brief the authors use a decade of detailed, longitudinal data on NYC's 1st-8th graders to explore both the "stock" of students enrolled and the "flow" of new entrants in each academic year. Together, these paint a…

Reviews literature showing that formal instruction dealing with the process of how to take tests has been generally effective with students ranging from the prekindergarten through the high school level. (Author/FL)

Examines the effects of testing accommodations on the mathematics test scores of a sample of fourth-grade students, which included students with disabilities (SWD) and students without disabilities (SWOD). Primary analyses indicated that SWDs experienced a larger effect in the accommodated condition than did SWODs. The SWDs profited more than…

A normative typology was developed and applied using multivariate profile analysis of subtest scores of the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT) standardization sample. The results yielded a seven-profile cluster solution for the Extended Battery, and a six-profile cluster solution for the Standard Battery. Additionally, the results lend…

The No Child Left Behind Act is the most far-reaching attempt by the federal government to alter American public education in the last thirty years. Among other things, the act attempts to hold schools accountable by requiring that all teachers be highly qualified, that all students demonstrate proficiency in basic subject matter as measured by…

This review of the literature addresses the issue of assessing students with disabilities who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD). An examination of data showing disproportionate representation of students with disabilities who are CLD establishes a case for using alternative forms of assessment. Problems with some forms of traditional…

An innovative, technology-enabled elementary school literacy program was implemented in a large urban school district. The program revolved around having student-adult pen pals read the same books and correspond about them. Statistical comparisons showed that program classrooms outperformed students in comparison classrooms on the SAT-9…

The author reviews research to show that the Wechsler Scales (the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) can be grossly unrepresentative of the general population in identifying mental retardation. (CL)

Presents a brief historical overview of standardized testing in science including its purpose, consequences, characteristics, and evaluation. Provides a critique that is unique in that this study used national science standards to evaluate a state-mandated standardized science test. (Author/MM)

Discusses the problems with high-stakes testing using information from two Arizona State University studies that compared academic and vocational student scores on standardized tests. Suggests that there are many questions related to high-stakes testing that need to be answered before too much weight is given to a single test. (JOW)

In this analysis of 58 empirical studies of high school block scheduling, the authors report findings in and across five groupings. Within groups, data were inconsistent regarding whether teachers' practices changed, but teachers believed that staff development was necessary to teach in a block schedule. Block scheduling appeared to increase…

This paper begins with cultural and historical perspectives on the use of calculators and then examines a selection of professional writings that the calculator issue has engendered during the period 1976 to 1993. The topics covered are: (1) the calculator in mathematics instruction, (2) the calculator in standardized mathematics assessment, and…