Developed as part of the Arkansas Minimum Performance Testing Program (MPT), these item specifications relate to the eighth grade language arts minimum performance test. There is one item specification for each instructional objective included in the MPT. Item specifications are intended to provide an overview of the general content and format of…

The primary purpose of the South Carolina Statewide Testing Program is to assess the achievement of fourth, seventh, and tenth grade public school students. Test results provide educators with information which facilitates the decision-making process. For the second time, Form U of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills was the instrument used to…

A 3-year pilot bilingual program based on the Manitoba curriculum was evaluated to determine the degree to which program objectives had been achieved. The program uses Ukrainian as the language of instruction for 100% of the time in kindergarten and for 50% of the time in grades 1 and 2. The study investigated the following: (1) the extent to…

This study was designed to determine whether mastery learning instruction at the secondary level is more effective than other instructional strategies. Seven teams of teachers in five school districts participated in the investigation. Subjects taught were middle school history and language arts, high school government, mathematics, history, and…

ONE THOUSAND STUDENT ESSAYS WERE ANALYZED TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT STUDENTS WHOSE TEACHERS POSSESS "MORE STRICT" STANDARDS IN COMPOSITION INSTRUCTION PERFORM DIFFERENTLY ON A STANDARDIZED ESSAY TEST THAN DO THOSE WHOSE TEACHERS HAVE "LESS STRICT" STANDARDS. FIFTH- AND SIXTH-GRADE CHILDREN FROM ALL OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS…

In this booklet, the highlights of Report No. 3 (see UD 018 835) on Compensatory Education (CE) are summarized in text and tables. Results reported include the following: (1) proportionally, CE selection is highest among the poor for both math and reading; (2) CE selection is proportionally higher for low achievers; (3) the greatest number of…

A comprehensive television (TV) and videotape system was installed in the elementary school in Lincoln Heights, Ohio, the nation's largest all-black city. With the support of industry and local educational television, every classroom was equipped with a six-channel closed circuit TV set and six headphones, at a cost of $42,250. The purpose of the…

This study examined the effect of a Specialized Language Activities curriculum upon the language development of 40 selected ninth graders who prepared short improvised dramas for production on videotape. Working on the premise that concentration on one aspect of the language arts would aid development in other areas, students in this experimental…

Reports that at the first grade level, parental tutoring appeared to produce significant increases in student reading, language arts, and math achievement, while at the second grade level there were no significant differences on posttest measures between groups receiving tutoring from their parents and those not. (FL)

A two-year study determined the effects of a comprehensive cooperative-learning approach to reading and language arts instruction on students' achievement, attitudes, and metacognitive awareness. Students in second through sixth grades, some mainstreamed academically handicapped, worked in heterogeneous learning teams on reading and writing…

Describes a study that investigated a home/school computer project and its effects on reading, language, and mathematics achievement on 142 fourth- and fifth-grade students as well as equity issues relating to gender, academic aptitude, and socioeconomic status. Results indicate that participation was not associated with increased academic…

In the shadow of a Manhattan housing project, Public School 33 is coming back to life. A new principal has brought a wave of optimism, test scores are way up, and middle-class families who used to avoid the school are enrolling their children. In Brooklyn, teenagers who might have dropped out of school are getting diplomas through a special…

In this article we examine student performance on mandated tests in grades 3, 4, and 5 in one state. We focus on this interval, which w e term "the fourth grade window," based on our hypothesis that students in grade four are particularly vulnerable to decrements in achievement. The national focus on the third grade as the critical…

The goal of the middle school organization is to create a learning environment that matches the developmental abilities and needs of young adolescents. This research attempts to operationalize that goal by integrating reading and English classes in large urban middle schools. The Student Team Reading and Writing (STRW) program reconfigured…

This article describes Project Breakthrough, federally funded as a demonstration through the Javits Gifted and Talented Education Act. Project staff worked for 3 years with three elementary schools in South Carolina to train teachers in the use of language arts and science curriculum developed by the Center for Gifted Education at the College of…