The scores on cognitive tests and school examinations of approximately 110 Kenyan children aged 6-9 years were analyzed, and a model was formulated. Certain measures of biological development and grade level are important predictors of scores on higher order cognitive tests. Household socioeconomic status is also positively associated with…

Analyzes the findings of J. Greene and data from Florida and suggests that the strong effects (significant improvement on test scores in schools threatened by vouchers) noted by Greene may actually be due in large part to sample selection, regression to the mean, and problems related to the aggregation of test score results. (Author/SLD)

Collected Stanford Achievement Test, Eighth Edition scores for 560 elementary school students in a mid-southern urban school district, two-thirds of whom were black, and half of whom were magnet school participants. Findings show statistically significant differences for magnet/nonmagnet and black/white groups. Adjusted posttest scores of black…

The 1998 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) state level reading assessment measured fourth- and eighth-grade students' reading proficiency in situations that involved reading for three purposes: reading for literary experience, reading to gain information, and reading to perform a task (grade 8 only). This report describes the…

The 1998 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) state level reading assessment measured fourth- and eighth-grade students' reading proficiency in situations that involved reading for three purposes: reading for literary experience, reading to gain information, and reading to perform a task (grade 8 only). This report describes the…

In the Louisiana Basic Skills Testing (BST) program, initiated in 1982, criterion-referenced tests of language arts and mathematics were administered to all second grade students. Longitudinal data over three years tracked four cohorts of students to address when retention appears to be most effective and whether a combination of repeated…

The general goal of the Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE) Test Use Project is to examine and describe the features and applications of tests and other assessment methods that contribute to the improvement of instruction. The Test Use Project is therefore examining the nature of current assessment practice, the kinds of information such…

Intended for parents, this guide discusses the effects of standardized tests on children, using test items from recent standardized reading tests which have been administered to children aged 7 to 13 and children's responses to these items. For each item, comments are made about the ambiguity of the item; the various interpretations that can be…

School profile data for the Tulsa Public Schools as a whole, as well as for each of the 105 schools individually, are provided for the 1971-1972 school year. The data provided relate to the background of the pupils served, the educational resources available to each school, and a measure of "output," i.e., the level of accomplishment in…

In many instances, the promotion of educational assessments has been viewed as a threat to some groups. Carefully conceived operational and analysis plans for state assessment may have little impact unless the purposes of assessment are clear and diffusion and utilization of information are well planned. Equally important is the provision of…

A standardized achievement testing program was begun in Alum Rock, California in the fall of 1972 as part of an evaluation of an Educational Voucher Demonstration. During each of the first three years of the demonstration both the form of test administration and the particular level of the standardized achievement test that a student is assigned…

Since July 1971, the Educational Testing Service has planned and conducted a study of compensatory reading programs in United States public schools. This document, an addendum to the final report for phase two of the study, includes a discussion of the relationship of classroom observations and effectiveness in the phase two sample of noteworthy…

Since July 1971, the Educational Testing Service has planned and conducted a study of compensatory reading programs in United States public schools. This document, an addendum to the final report for phase two of the study, focuses on the reclassification (according to funding) of the 92 schools originally categorized as unclassifiable, reporting…

Discusses the use of standardized test results as a guide to developing curriculum content and uses data gathered at Hellgate Elementary School, Montana, as an example. (JC)

Texas students have made extraordinarily large gains on statewide achievement tests, the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), gains so dramatic that they have been dubbed the "Texas miracle." There is general agreement that these gains are attributable to the high stakes accountability system in Texas, but there is some question…