A study investigated the views of 81 teachers, administrators, and assessment personnel about issues stemming from the participation of students with disabilities in large-scale assessments. Findings indicate local personnel are giving increasingly careful consideration to appropriateness of curriculum choices, assessment options that match…

Science education standards established by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Research Council (NRC) urge less emphasis on memorizing scientific facts and more emphasis on students investigating the everyday world and developing deep understanding from their inquiries. These approaches to instruction…

Student teaching may require student teachers to address the demands of two masters that often have very different expectations and philosophies. They are caught in a bind of being expected to implement methods advocated in university coursework while also being expected to fit into the classroom to which they are assigned. This bind is further…

In this paper, a companion piece to "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools" (ED544382), the authors analyze small high school spending in three urban districts--Baltimore City, Boston, and Chicago--to understand whether it is higher than in larger schools; if it is, why it is different; and the policy…

A reaccreditation self-study project was conducted at St. Jerome Catholic School in Ft. Lauderdale (Florida). The school's 325 students come from a predominantly blue collar, ethnically and racially diverse community. The curriculum provides a solid academic background of core subjects, special subjects, and extracurricular activities. The project…

As a result of the increased demand for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction and the concomitant growth of ESL programs, interest has increased in the issue of credit for courses designed to promote English language proficiency sufficient to engage in postsecondary education. Recent national and regional studies have found that a…

The Measurement and Evaluation Center of the University of Texas at Austin conducted a standard-setting study in 1991 to reassess the use of the College Board's Achievement Tests in mathematics, Level I and Level II for course placement and credit by examination in an elementary functions and coordinate geometry course. Students in 20 sections of…

Four annual surveys of the 50 states provide data for analyzing nation-wide trends in competency assessment of teachers. Most state plans for teacher competency assessment include testing one or more areas of basic skills, professional or pedagogical skills, and academic knowledge. The testing occurs at the entry level--admission to the teacher…

Cutscores for certifying competence on the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) have been raised three times since the test was implemented in 1982. In 1989, a study was conducted at Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) to challenge the contention that a vast majority of students taking the CLAST under the largest and most recent jump in…

Educational policy makers have questioned the effects of school reform on at-risk students and suggested that higher academic standards may be associated with greater numbers of dropouts. This study examines school average dropout rates for 2 consecutive years in conjunction with percent aid to families with dependent children (AFDC), total…

A survey was conducted among 489 public colleges in the Southern Regional Education Board states to determine cutting scores for placing students into regular versus remedial college classes. Results indicated a large number and variety of tests in reading, writing, and mathematics--almost 100 combinations of 70 different tests--were used to place…

Using four large existing databases on student performance in the elementary grades, this study involves a task-by-task, year-by-year cross-sectional analysis of six topics in computation. Information about what students eventually learn and when they learn it is provided by the data analysis; information about when skills are introduced and…

During the 1982-83 school year the Spencerport (New York) Central School District began a comprehensive project to study the effective schools research and its implications at all levels of a suburban school system. A leadership planning team (consisting of teachers, principals, and district personnel) participated in a series of workshops and…

This document is an annual status report summarizing findings of the first full year of operation of the Spencerport (New York) More Effective Schools/Teaching Project. Section 1 describes four documents (reprinted in Appendices A through D) that were developed during the project; reviews the assumptions, concepts, and research findings upon which…

Recent studies showing the need for improvements in the educational system in the United States have resulted in strengthening of academic requirements, upgrading of standards for promotion, and increased course loads in high schools throughout the country. Pennsylvania is no exception to this trend; the passage of Chapter 5 legislation, which…