This study assesses the predictive validity of the Phelps Kindergarten Readiness Scale (PKRS) for later academic achievement and explores the utility of a domain-specific measure of kindergarten readiness. Kindergarten readiness scores were significantly correlated with both math and language arts achievement as measured by New York State…

The present study examined outcomes on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program/Achievement Test (TCAP/AT) for the KIPP:DIAMOND Academy (KIPP:DA), which is in its second year of operation. Importantly, as in Year 1, a rigorous quasi-experimental research design was employed, in which each KIPP:DA student was individually matched to a highly…

The results of this study conclude that there is a multidimensional basis for test score inferences on the mathematics and critical reading sections of the SAT. Results from the exploratory analyses indicate that the data are multidimensional, as mathematics displayed two dimensions and critical reading displayed three dimensions. The correlations…

With the mandate of "No Child Left Behind," high-stakes achievement testing is firmly in place in every state. The few studies that have explored the effectiveness of high-stakes testing using NAEP scores have yielded mixed results. This study considered state demographic characteristics for each NAEP testing period in reading, writing,…

Family and child care experiences from birth to 54 months, achievement and social competence at entry to school, maternal sensitivity at first grade, and qualities of first-grade classrooms were used to predict academic and cognitive functioning at first grade for 832 children enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human…

Data collected during the Anchor Test Study norming phase were used to investigate substantive relationships between reading achievement and school, classroom, and pupil variables. School characteristics, such as location, public or private, socioeconomic level, and percentage minority enrollment, were found to be related to achievement in reading…

The relation between Bayley Scale and Stanford-Binet measures in preschool and scholastic achievement at pre-adolescence is examined in the context of an early age intervention. The program sought to normalize the socio-cognitive development of disadvantaged 2-year-olds directly and through a training program for mothers. The follow-up includes a…

This chapter provides an overview of statistical issues arising in work on educational assessment and school accountability, organized around some of the most consequential misunderstandings. The article proceeds via a series of nine vignettes describing misunderstandings of statistical uncertainty in educational assessment and school…

This study examined the relationship between high-stakes testing pressure and student achievement across 25 states. Standardized portfolios were created for each study state. Each portfolio contained a range of documents that told the "story" of accountability implementation and impact in that state. Using the "law of comparative…

The results of different types of reading achievement measures were compared for 58 low-income urban black third graders. Two formal tests were administered: the norm-referenced California Achievement Tests (CAT), and the criterion-referenced Alabama Basic Competency Test (ABCT). Informal measures included the Houghton-Mifflin Informal Reading…

Collective teacher efficacy (CTE) refers to the collective perception that teachers in a given school make an educational difference to their students over and above the educational impact of their homes and communities. Significant positive relationships were found between CTE and student achievement on the grade 8 math, writing, and English…

The 1993 Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) Reading Tests measured reading comprehension using both narrative and expository reading passages. Noticeable differences in mean scaled scores occurred depending on whether the 1993 results were equated back to the 1992 narrative test or the 1993 expository test (Hsu and Ackerman, 1994). In an…

This study examined the relationship of home and family, school behavior, peer relations, and self-concept with reading achievement among Head Start graduates. Participating in the study were 43 girls and 37 boys ranging in age from 8 to 17 at the time of the study. Two groups were selected. The first group, identified as resilient, had average…

Utilizing data on approximately 16,000 children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten Cohort and a rich set of mediating factors on 16 immigrant groups, this paper examined the associations between children's immigrant generation status and their academic performance. The changes in academic achievements during kindergarten and…

This paper presents the appendices to the "High-Stakes Testing and Student Achievement: Problems for the No Child Left Behind Act" report. It contains the following appendices: (1) Example of Context for Assessing State-Level Stakes Sheet--Connecticut; (2) Example of Completed Rewards and Sanctions Worksheet--Connecticut; (3) Directions…