The development of a modified semantic differential measure of school-related attitudes of grades 3-6 children is described and its validation involving 99 children is reported. Each of the four scales of this measure, Attitude Toward-School, -Language Arts, -Teachers, and -Arithmetic, was found to be unidimensional. Internal consistency estimates…

Data were collected from 123 seventh and eighth grade students to examine the relationship between the quality of television viewing time and reading achievement, age, grade, sex, socioeconomic status (SES), and intelligence quotient (IQ). Highlights of the data analyses include the following: (1) The mean weekly viewing time for the subjects was…

The relationship between performance on various Piagetian and reading achievement tasks as examined through 26 correlational studies is reviewed. The following areas of concern are addressed: (1) sample characteristics of the subjects; (2) classification of the Piagetian tasks into five categories of logical operations, spatial concepts, general…

Data on the early prediction of learning problems was summarized by a meta analysis of 58 studies reporting correlations between measures administered in kindergarten or first grade and later reading achievement. The best single predictors of achievement were attention-distractibility, internalizing behavior problems, and language variables.…

The ability of a dynamic measure of phonemic awareness to predict progress in beginning reading was studied with 38 kindergartners. Results support the utility of the developed measures and demonstrate the applicability of the principles of dynamic assessment to the measurement of phonemic awareness. (SLD)

At the core of standards-based reform are content standards--statements about what students should know and be able to do. Although it is "state" standards that are the focus of much public attention and consume substantial resources, many local school districts have developed their own content standards in the major subject areas.…

Reading test data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were scaled using the unidimensional item response theory model. Data were collected for students aged 9, 13, and 17. To determine whether the responses to the reading items were consistent with unidimensionality, four different methods were applied: (1) principal…

Reports the longitudinal follow-up of 41 preschool children as they moved into reading. When the children were 3-years-old, they participated in a detailed assessment of their language, print and metalinguistic skills. Overall language development at age 3 just as strongly correlated with reading scores at age 7 as it had with metalinguistic and…

To determine the concurrent validity of a standardized test and its usefulness to educators, reading ratings from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills were compared to teacher ratings and independently administered placement test ratings. Two hundred one primary children, the majority of whom read one or more years below grade level, took the ITBS by a…

This study was designed to select and explore a research battery which, when administered at the beginning of the school year, more adequately and efficiently predicts end-of-year reading achievement than have previously used tests and test batteries. The most powerful predictor tests were designed to provide a more adequate screening device than…

This study establishes the link between the presence of adequate school library staffing and higher academic achievement as indicated by PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) reading scores. School library staffing is correlated with such scores; as library staffing rises, reading scores rise. This correlation is not explained away by…

This document reports on a project that examined the impact of school library media centers on academic achievement in Pennsylvania. The project also determined the impact on academic achievement of: specific activities of certified school librarians; principal and teacher support of school library programs; and information technology,…

This study examined the relationship between intelligence as defined by a verbal and nonverbal combined score, obtained on the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test and final grades received in the following six academic subjects: reading, math, spelling, science, English and social studies. The sample for this study consisted of 159 elementary students…

Students in an Ohio community (363 males and 332 females) took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in the spring of their eighth-grade year and the Ohio Ninth Grade Proficiency Test (ONGPT) in the following fall of their ninth-grade year. The scores from both tests, for a period of 3 consecutive years, were correlated to determine the predictability of…

School effectiveness indices (SEIs) based on residuals from regressing test performance in reading and mathematics onto prior-year test performance and a socioeconomic status measure (percentage eligible for a subsidized lunch program) were obtained for two consecutive years for 431 South Carolina elementary schools. The analysis involved school…