For a multitude of reasons candidates do not always complete all assessments in the examinations they are entered for. Using examination data across a range of GCSE specifications offered by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, this article details the impact of "unaccepted" absence on educational attainment, and explores absence…

This article reports on a new study which concludes that teachers entering the profession today have higher academic qualifications than their counterparts a decade ago. The report, released this week by the Educational Testing Service, says the finding bodes well for greater student learning because of the evidence that teachers' academic ability…

In an effort to answer the "Educational Call to Arms", our national public schools have turned to Advanced Placement (AP) courses as the predominate vehicle used to address the lack of academic rigor in our public high schools. Advanced Placement is believed by many to provide students with the rigor and work ethic necessary to…

A series of 8 tests was administered to university students over 4 weeks for program assessment purposes. The stakes of these tests were low for students; they received course points based on test completion, not test performance. Tests were administered in a counterbalanced order across 2 administrations. Response time effort, a measure of the…

Background: "Volume & Heaviness" was one of three Piagetian tests used in the CSMS survey in 1975/76. However unlike psychometric tests showing the Flynn effect--that is with students showing steady improvements year by year requiring tests to be restandardized--it appeared that the performance of Y7 students has recently been…

The journey toward 100% proficiency is most successful when a whole school works as a team. School leaders must focus their school's energy and effort on schoolwide initiatives that will make the changes needed to increase student learning and improve students' scores on state tests. The structure of the school and the collaboration of the faculty…

Considers what literacy teachers can do to prevent subsequent school failure and lowered test scores with media attention on school violence and trauma in and out of schools. Suggests bibliotherapy, a familiar tool used in earlier decades by teachers to counsel students with problems, is useful today in dealing with students who suffer from…

Contends distinction between normal and abnormal aging of the brain changes as data emerge which identify as pathology what had previously been considered the norm. Reviews research on effects of aging in twins begun in 1940s, focusing on facts related to intellectual decline, neuropsychological test performance relationship to dementia, and…

Examines two samples of students classified as learning disabled (LD) for evidence of the phenomenon known as the Flynn effect (FE). Results indicate that the FE does affect Wechsler IQ and component scores of students classified as LD. Suggests that LD classification may be substantially impacted by the FE over the life of an IQ test version.…

Reports 1990 SAT scores for Blacks, women, Native Americans, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Asian Americans, and compares them with 1989 and 1976 scores. National scores show a slight decline this year, while scores for Blacks are unchanged and scores for Asian Americans and Native Americans show gains. (DM)

Observes that there has been no accounting of the history of the teaching of sociology. Suggests that the journal, "Teaching Sociology," can help bring attention to teaching. Notes that sociology majors' grades and standardized tests scores have declined. Argues that sociology instruction must become more effective and must implement value added…

A report from the National Endowment for the Arts, among much other such research, reveals that literacy is in serious decline in America. Ramifications of this decline extend beyond English and language departments to affect all other disciplines, ultimately raising the question of how a democracy can function when its citizens abandon the…

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III (WISC-III) Intelligence Quotients (IQs) of 49 students (ages 7-16) referred for a three-year reevaluation were analyzed. Correlations of WISC-III IQs to WISC-III IQs three years previously were high for the Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance IQs. Even so, IQs dropped a statistically significant…

Substantial drops in Scholastic Aptitude Test scores coincide with an increasingly diverse group of students, including more minority group members, taking the exam. The gap between bright and average students' scores has also widened. The trend is seen as evidence that recommended educational reforms are not being adopted. (MSE)

The article assesses the report of the Sandia National Laboratory's contentions about decline in Scholactic Aptitude Test Scores, National Assessment of Educational Progress achievement, and international assessments. The article suggests the report is generally right about steady trends but seriously flawed by several errors. (SM)