An evaluation of the Astor Program for Gifted Children, introduced in 1973, in the New York City public schools is presented. This study is a follow-up of the "pioneer" pupils (those accepted during 1974-76). Sources of data included: a student questionnaire; student attitude scales; a parent questionnaire; a principal questionnaire; a…

The Newark (New Jersey) School District's Twice-Retained Program was evaluated for 1985-86. This alternative program was designed for students in grades 1 through 8 who had a history of two or more grade retentions. It emphasized instruction in reading and mathematics and evaluated the pre- and post-program performance in those areas, as well as…

Michael's Informal Test of Student Ability (MITOSA) is a diagnostic evaluative tool for adult students designed to test nine skills abilities in adult students functioning below a tenth grade level. The nine test sections are approximate reading level, understanding of basic math concepts and symbols, general thinking/reasoning ability, eye-hand…

The self-serving effect (SSE), often depicted as a bias, is the tendency to accept responsibility for one's own successes but not one's own failures. Two studies of Australian fifth graders (n=226, n=559) were further analyzed to investigate individual differences in SSE. The Sydney Attribution Scale measured students' perceptions of the causes of…

The purpose of Even Start, as outlined in federal legislation, is to help break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and low literacy by providing a unified family literacy program for low-income families. Even Start has three related goals: (1) to help parents improve their literacy or basic education skills; (2) to help parents become full…

In October 2003, the US Department of Education contracted with Abt Associates to design and conduct the Reading First Implementation Evaluation. This report focuses on the following questions: (1) How is the Reading First program implemented in districts and schools? and (2) How does reading instruction differ in Reading First schools and…

Observations were conducted in 29 elementary schools in which reading instruction had been found to be effective, as well as in classes from less effective schools, in order to determine the characteristics which were associated with effective and ineffective compensatory reading programs. The schools' membership in a cluster (partially effective,…

The administrators' and teachers' manual for the New York State Preliminary Competency Test in Reading provides information on the student population to be tested; the degrees of reading power (DRP) methodology to measure students' reading comprehension; the test content; and the state reference point, a cutoff score expressed in terms of…

This report evaluates the 1982-83 Compensatory Language Experience and Reading Program (CLEAR), which served 5392 Ohio students, grades K-8, whose reading skills achievement was at or below the 36th percentile. The program featured individual or small group instruction. Instructional techniques and materials based on skill-centered objectives were…

The Local District Assessment Option (piggyback program) is an integral part of the Minnesota Statewide Educational Assessment Program, which provides the 162 participating local school districts with materials and procedures developed for the statewide program. Materials are available in reading, mathematics, social studies, and science for…

This report, mandated by Ohio's 119th General Assembly, examines the fairness and appropriateness of the state's ninth-grade proficiency test. Under the assumption that it is indeed fair and appropriate to have a single, statewide graduation standard for all students, the study focuses on the issue of whether the test, as developed and…

This study examined the educational development of 22 children (ages 2 to 10), under the supervision of the Cochlear Implant Team of the Medical College of Virginia, who had received implants as a result of deafness (in most cases prelingual and congenital) from 6 months to 3 years prior to the study. Data included a review of the children's case…

A new elementary retention policy was implemented in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in 1981-82. The AISD Board of Trustees requested a three-year study of the impact and effectiveness of the policy. This report describes results from the second year of the study, including the effect of the change in policy on staff development,…

This report summarizes evaluation results of the AISD prekindergarten program for the 2001-2002 school year.

This report evaluates the implementation of the "Long-Range Magnet School Plan" at Metropolitan Advanced Technical Magnet High School in Kansas City, Missouri for academic year 1990-91. Introductory sections describe the program, and the evaluation design and methodology. Results on enrollment indicated that only ninth and tenth grades…