This research employed a mixed-methods approach to explore the best practices of ordinary national educational testing (O-NET) to improve the quality of basic education. The methodology was divided into four phases, the first of which was a survey and analysis of the current situation at ONET. The sample group was made up of representatives of the…

"Assessing Learning in the Primary Classroom" is an accessible introduction to the concepts critical to a professional understanding of this vital aspect of a teacher's role. It comprehensively considers the principles underpinning effective assessment, the different forms it can take and the different purposes it serves, both within and beyond…

With the demand for a demonstration of continuous progress as an accountability gauge in public schools, teachers are compelled to examine assessment data for each of their pupils. This data analysis, in turn, should help teachers gauge their instructional practices and differentiate instruction so that all can reach proficient levels of…

Many studies show that school leadership is a key factor in supporting change within schools, but few have specifically considered the impact leadership has on gains in students' reading outcomes. This article focuses on factors that typify leadership in schools where such gains have been identified and explores the nature and quality of…

The purpose of this correlational quantitative study was to examine the extent to which teachers perceive the use of benchmark assessment data as effective; the extent to which the time spent teaching mathematics is associated with students' mathematics grades, and the extent to which the results of math benchmark assessment influence teachers'…

Relatively little research has explored whether schools differ in their effectiveness for different group of pupils (e.g. by ethnicity, poverty or gender), for different curriculum subjects (e.g. English, mathematics or science) or over time (different cohorts). This paper uses multilevel modelling to analyse the national test results at age 7 and…

This study developed a Mobile Plant Learning System (MPLS) that provides instructors with the ways and means to facilitate student learning in an elementary-school-level botany course. The MPLS represented in this study was implemented to address problems that arise with the use of a didactic approach to teaching and learning botany, as is…

This article describes the findings of studies conducted on a large-scale, classroom-based performance assessment of literacy for the early grades designed to provide information that is useful for reporting, as well as teaching. Technical studies found the assessment to be a promising instrument that is reliable and valid. Follow-up studies of…

Test results for students from Massachusetts charter schools were analyzed. As 14 Massachusetts charter schools completed their second year of operation, and 7 more finished their first year, results from standardized tests taken by charter school students were becoming available. Test results are the only indicators of performance analyzed in…

The General Achievement Profile described in this article is used for making visual comparisons of a child's test performance scores through shadings on graph bars. The profile is intended as a counselor aid for use during an individual test interpretation session. (Author)

Data gathered from 351 students administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Education (WISC-III) were used to analyze the 30-second interval performance on the Coding subtest. Results based on both IQ and special-education classification revealed no significant difference in performance. Cautions regarding the diagnostic use of…

Seeks to determine convergent validity values and to compare intelligence estimates for three tests across various levels and ranges of intelligence. Results indicated that the use of the PPUT or DAP for determining intelligence of kindergarten children is unjustified. (Author/PC)

Concludes that the extra attention paid to children during the administration of reading tests does not have a significant effect on test performance and that the Hawthorne effect does not influence reading test results. (RB)

There was not a significant relationship between good or poor handwriting ability and a perceptual quotient score of above or below 90 on the Marianne Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception. (Author)

Presents results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2000 Science Assessment and compares them with 1996 results. Between 1996 and 2000, there was no statistically significant difference observed in the average science scores of fourth or eighth grade students. (SLD)