This document presents a sample test form for high school reading and comprehension proficiency. The first section of the exam consists of 27 questions taken from 7 selections, which included 4 literature and poetry selections and the following nonfiction titles: Procedures for Answering a Call, Just the Facts, Garlic, and Pot Roast with…

Three concurrent validity studies involving 88 regular and 56 learning disabled elementary students were conducted to determine the relationship between performances on formative measures of reading and standardized achievement measures of reading. The usefulness of the formative measures for continuous evaluation of student growth in reading is…

The "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" is one of the most important legislative acts signed into law. The goals of this Act are clear; each state, school, and local education agency must make specific progress towards student achievement results each year until every child is 100 percent proficient by the year 2014. The goal of this…

The causal effects of a voluntary summer reading intervention on children's reading activities and reading achievement were assessed in a randomized experiment involving 331 children in Grades 1-5. Children were pretested in the spring on a standardized test of reading achievement (Stanford Achievement Test, 10th ed.), on the Elementary Reading…

Nontransient 6th- and 8th-grade urban middle school students' achievement test scores were examined before (4th grade) and during (6th or 8th grade) enrollment in a performing ensemble. Ensemble participation (band, choir, none) and subject variables of socioeconomic status (SES) and home environment were considered. Fourth- and 6th-grade…

This paper examines evidence on the "systemic effects" of expanding school choice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee is home to one of the nation's largest and longest-running school choice programs. If there are systemic effects from expanding school choice we should be able to see them in Milwaukee. This paper also introduces a novel…

"The Condition of Education 2017" is a congressionally mandated annual report summarizing the latest data on education in the United States. This report is designed to help policymakers and the public monitor educational progress. This year's report includes 50 indicators on topics ranging from prekindergarten through postsecondary…

Evaluated number of format and direction changes across tests and grade levels of major elementary standardized reading achievement tests. Number of format changes varies from one change every 1.2 minutes on Metropolitan Achievement Test Level E1 to one change every 21.3 minutes on P1 level of Stanford Achievement Test. (Author)

Describes a study conducted at the University of Tennessee at Marin to find a test more suitable than the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) to accurately measure reading improvement in developmental classes. Found no support for replacing the NDRT with the Descriptive Tests of Language Skills or the Comparative Guidance and Placement Program. (DMM)

Compared standardized achievement test performance of 62 second graders receiving instruction in 2 different reading curricula (Open Court and Houghton-Mifflin) to determine whether either curriculum generates different quantitative estimates of reading achievement. Found significant Curriculum X Test interaction, suggesting differences among…

This study of 335 students in grades 2-6 found that correlations between oral reading fluency and 2 reading achievement tests declined as grade level increased. Coefficients between performance on maze tasks and achievement tests did not show a similar decline from lower to upper grade levels. (Author/JDD)

Used confirmatory factor analysis to compare directly two competing models for interpreting Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children which have garnered theoretical and empirical support. Findings from 100 referred or low-achieving children supported model with separate Reading Achievement and Verbal Comprehension factors over model subsuming both…

Implications of the relationships among mathematics and reading achievement tests scores uncovered by testing 366 elementary school students with academic difficulties are discussed. Tests are the: (1) KeyMath-Revised (J. Connolly, 1988); (2) Peabody Individual Achievement Test-Revised (F. Markwardt, 1989); (3) Wechsler Individual Achievement Test…

Claims the data from the Ohio Proficiency Test is rich but hard to use. Describes a process for analyzing the data to make it more manageable. Provides suggestions for using the results to make data-driven decisions. (NH)

Student absenteeism in Broward County Public Schools was examined longitudinally from 1998-99 through the first semester of the 2003-04 school year. Historically, secondary students tend to register more excused and unexcused absences than elementary students; however, data from this study show overall absence rates have declined. Findings reveal…