The effects of portfolio assessment on mathematics students' attitudes about grades, their awareness of their mathematics strengths and weaknesses, and their abilities to set reasonable goals were studied for 12 fifth-grade students given a survey on attitudes about grading near the end of a 10-week term. Students also wrote about their strengths…

Fifth graders were taught to use an electronic card catalog to retrieve information and materials for class assignments and leisure reading materials. Groups of 10 or 12 students were seen twice a week for periods lasting up to 30 minutes. At these sessions they were introduced to computer components, proper handling, how to log into a network…

This practicum report describes an identification prototype used by a large metropolitan school district (Gwinnet County, Georgia) to identify giftedness in black and limited English speaking students. Underrepresentation of these groups in gifted programs is seen to result from: teacher reluctance to refer students from the target populations;…

Student perceptions of changes in the mode of instruction used by teachers who use alternative assessment techniques and changes in student attitudes and beliefs about mathematics after experiencing alternative assessment were studied. Eighteen teachers surveyed their elementary school and secondary school students three times during the school…

Metacognitions about study activities and strategy use were assessed in 166 fifth and sixth graders (54 percent female and 39 percent African American), 108 seventh and eighth graders (55 percent female and 32 percent African American), and 168 college students (60 percent female, 10 percent African American, and 10 percent from other ethnic…

The effects of infusing tradebooks into the school and home environments of non-White, low socioeconomic status, urban third through fifth graders were studied. Tradebooks are books with a purpose that is not school-based. The study was conducted in an urban kindergarten through grade 5 school in the Los Angeles (California) area, where 59 percent…

In the spring of 1989, over 2,000 pairs of fourth- and eighth-grade students were assessed on their ability to apply mathematical and scientific concepts. The tests (administered in alternate years during the written assessments of the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program) required students to apply what they knew about mathematics and…

The use of a generative and evaluative computerized prompting framework to improve the teaching of writing skills was studied with 164 children in grades 6, 7, and 8 with high or low writing skills, who were randomly assigned to control or treatment groups. The treatment group received computer prompts, think sheet scaffolds, and expert modeling…

The Standardized Tests of Achievement for Fiji (STAFs) were developed to measure skills and concepts of curriculum subjects for elementary schools. Two parallel tests were issued in early 1980 for Class-6 subjects (students in grade 6 of Fiji primary schools): (1) English Reading Comprehension; (2) English Listening Comprehension; (3) English…

A report is given on the attitudes of elementary and secondary public school teachers toward public education in the United States. Data were obtained by a nation-wide survey of 1,981 teachers. The report summarizes responses and information on: (1) major study findings; (2) a profile of teachers in the United States; (3) the job satisfaction of…

The purpose of this booklet is to articulate the student outcomes expected for children in grades K-12. This document seeks to reflect the major themes of science education. These common curriculum goals have been developed not to detail separate facts of science needed to be taught by every science program, but to detail a larger view of the same…

Test specifications for the Texas Examination of Current Administrators and Teachers (TECAT) are presented in detail. These specifications are designed to help teachers prepare for the TECAT, and should also be made available to administrators and persons preparing review courses. This test focuses on reading and writing skills. In the test…

To help classroom teachers construct mathematics tests, nineteen general objectives, corresponding sub-objectives, sample test items, and answers are presented. In general, sub-objectives are arranged in increasing order of difficulty. The objectives were written to comprehensively cover three categories: (1) set theory; (2) numeration (Roman,…

A collection of 96 mathematics items are presented for state and local education agencies to draw upon in designing their own minimal competency tests. These items, part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, have been reviewed in terms of their appropriateness for a minimal competency test for high school graduation. The items are…

This action research project implemented and evaluated a program for improving student transfer of knowledge to real life experiences. The targeted population consisted of second, sixth, and tenth grade students in a Midwestern community located outside of a major city. Evidence suggested a need for this program as documented by teacher generated…