Methods are suggested that can be used to varying degrees by the teacher for a self-evaluation, which is independent of any other procedures that might be used by a school system. Three sources of information can be used as the basis for self-evaluation: (1) scaled instruments, questionnaires, and narrative reports; (2) videotapes; and (3) data on…

The author presents critical comments on a paper by John Siegfried, in which Siegfried reports on a controlled experiment to determine whether the educational experience of being a proctor is sufficiently valuable to justify awarding academic credit. Siegfried argues that a semester of proctoring teaches a student more than a one-semester,…

The Louisiana high stakes testing program has raised questions about equity issues. Students from lower socioeconomic groups are less likely to have access to quality penetration tools, and, like minority students, are less likely to have knowledge and skills of their more affluent peers. Students in special education have needs that place them at…

By including district variables at a third level, this study extended previous two-level hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) of multivariate relationships among Texas school-level characteristics and within-school mean Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores and score differentiating factors (L. L. Hargrove, M. X. Mao, and G. Barkanic, 1996;…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between scores and the times that medical students choose to take a computer-administered test. The results indicate that students who choose to take a test later within a given time period tend to perform less well than students who take the test earlier. Although the magnitude…

The effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) in preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) was studied. A 10-week PBL experience was implemented to supplement lecture-based instruction in preparing for the MCAT. Over 2 years, 33 students participated. Participants met for 3 hours in small PBL groups directed by a tutor three…

The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) I is designed for use with juniors and seniors in high school as part of the college admissions process. Of the nearly 3 million students who took the SAT I in 1998-1999, more than 130,000 were seventh and eighth grade students (more than 110,000 in 1997-1998). While most of these students take the SAT I as…

Richard Delgado and Jean Stefanic have examined a series of legal decisions they consider to be "serious moral errors,""embarrassingly inhumane decisions," and "moral abominations." Departing from their exploration of bad judicial decision making, this paper points out some examples of bad decision making in higher education. It identifies four…

Graduate programs in Educational Administration use a variety of screening strategies, including the Graduate Records Examination (GRE) when selecting and admitting students. In order to earn Standard Principal Certification in Texas, an Educational Administration candidate, in addition to completing a graduate program, must also pass the Standard…

The majority of candidates who take the Tests of General Educational Development (GED) take those tests within 2 years of leaving school, but this study highlights the demographic profile and performance of candidates who, for a variety of reasons, waited anywhere from 24 to 54 years to attempt to obtain the GED high school equivalency credential.…

In the late 1990s, three privately funded school voucher programs for students from low-income families were established in the Dayton, Ohio metropolitan area, New York City, and Washington, D.C. Additional programs were created in Dayton and Washington, D.C. and in 1999, the Children's Scholarship Fund, a nationwide school choice scholarship…

This report describes a study conducted in response to a request for help in establishing decision rules for exempting prospective teachers from a proposed statewide testing requirement in Indiana. Having decided to use Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores as a basis for exempting prospective teachers from the Pre-Professional Skills Test…

The equivalence of multiple-choice (MC) and constructed response (discrete) (CR-D) response formats as applied to mathematics computation at grade levels two to six was tested. The difference between total scores from the two response formats was tested for statistical significance, and the factor structure of items in both response formats was…

This paper looks at using descriptions of subject matter content to assist in the development and interpretation of student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). These descriptions of content, called achievement level descriptions (ALDs), were initially conceptualized as exemplary statements of the knowledge and…

The accuracy of statistics based on performance assessments that represent percentages of students reaching standards is explored using data from a large-scale performance assessment, the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program. Results with students in grades 3, 5, and 8 support the accuracy of pooling results to produce the statistics.…