The great value of standardized tests for locating talent that would otherwise be likely to remain submerged and unidentified is emphasized. Such tests must be appropriate to the actual ability level of the persons tested, regardless of their grade level, so that sufficient ceilings may be obtained and power of minds probed adequately. High test…

This study addressed the factors of Graduate Record Examination scores (GRE), race, gender, and undergraduate grade point average (GPA) as predictors of success on the Texas state administrator certification examination. The paper was presented as the entry point for expected discussion of the effects of high stakes accountability policies on the…

This study was part of a larger study investigating the influence of group collaboration during a group assessment on performance of the group and subsequent widespread performances. This study compared the verbal interactions of students while they completed a science assessment in small collaborative groups with their performance on the same…

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was implemented in 1965 to provide financial assistance to state and local education agencies to meet the special needs of educationally disadvantaged children. Federal funding supports a variety of supplemental services that share the collective purpose of improving educational opportunities…

Teacher testing-related attitudes and practices were explored in the context of court-ordered achievement testing in a school district engaged in desegregation. Responses to a mail survey (the Teacher Assessment Practices Questionnaire) from 79 teachers (grades 3, 4, and 5) across 13 elementary schools in a midwestern urban district suggest that…

A discussion of second language program evaluation focuses on the interpretability of test scores as a criterion in program evaluation. It looks at both test design and research design issues. First, eight method-comparison, program evaluation studies that compare acquisition-based and analysis/practice based methods are described. Acquisition…

Research results appear inconclusive as to the relationship of student attendance to student achievement, although most practitioners cite increased student attendance as an extremely desirable school outcome. The purpose of the examination of student attendance in the Louisiana public schools was twofold: (1) to determine the relationship of…

The Joint First-Stage Achievement Test (JFAT) is a new unified college entrance examination developed in Japan. This report presents the statistical results of the JFAT and the applicants' behavior change which appeared through the first six years of administration from 1979 to 1984. Three major features of the JFAT are described: (1) jointly made…

The paper discusses high school students' attitudes towards teachers' verbal questioning behavior and assesses the relevance of students' preferences to test score gains. Data were sought for several questions. What cognitive levels of teacher verbal questioning behavior do social studies students prefer? What is the relationship between students'…

The Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress (IIEP) Test Comfort Scale was administered and test results were studied in terms of student achievement and correlates of achievement. Using the revised, seven-item scale, it was determined that: in grade 4, there was no main significant effect for sex or ethnic differences, although Orientals and…

The approach characterizing this study of bias in tests of educational achievement is stated to be reflective and philosophical rather than experimental and statistical. Its concern is with operationally definable areas of learning and indicators of achievement rather than with the hypothetical latent traits that are presumed by some to influence…

This report describes a study conducted to determine if there were any applicable effects from private-school competition on public-school student achievement in North Carolina. The study examined multiple student outcomes, including elementary and secondary student achievement results, student dropout rates, and high school student achievement…

Different forms of accommodation have been suggested in the assessment of English language learners (ELL). This study examined the effectiveness of a few accommodation strategies on the performance of ELL students in mathematics. A group of 946 eighth graders participated in this study. Using mathematics test items from the National Assessment of…

Correlational findings based on 423 students in sixth and seventh grades indicate that prosocial and antisocial behavior are related significantly to grade point average and standardized test scores and to teachers' preferences for students and academic behavior. The role of social behavior in promoting classroom learning is discussed. (SLD)

Investigates the relationship between Chapter 1 and regular classroom teachers' estimates of test content coverage (opportunity to learn) and mathematics achievement of 89 fourth graders (65% were African American and 35% were white) in Chapter 1 mathematics instruction. Results indicate the importance of measuring students' opportunity to learn…