Civics education in the nation's schools informs students about the structures, functions, and processes of government and about the meaningful ways in which citizens can make decisions about public issues and participate in governance. This report, part of the Nation's Report Card program and based on findings from the 1998 National Assessment of…

This full-color publication uses a tabloid format to present highlights from the National Assessment of Educational Progress 2002 writing assessment. It describes assessment content; presents major findings as average scale scores and as percentages of students scoring at or above achievement levels for the nation, at grades 4, 8, and 12; shows…

This report presents the results of the 2002 assessment in writing from the National Assessment of Educational Progress for the nation and for the participating states and jurisdictions. Comparisons are made to performance in the national assessment of 1998 at grades 4, 8, and 12. Comparison data are given within and across participating states…

This report presents the results of the 1998 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) writing assessment of fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students for the nation and for participating states or jurisdictions. It provides results for subgroups of students defined by various background and contextual characteristics. The Introduction…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the nation's only ongoing survey of what students know and can do in various academic subject areas. This report summarizes the results of the 1998 NAEP civics assessment for the nation. The results are based on an assessment of students at grade 4, grade 8, and grade 12. Students'…

The 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) civics assessment contained a combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Each student participating in the assessment received two 25-minute sections of questions. Most civics questions measured both knowledge and intellectual skills. In addition, some questions measured…

Surveys of drug and alcohol use conducted with 4,367 Mexican-American and 3,790 White non-Hispanic eighth and twelfth graders from similar communities find generally higher rates of substance use by Mexican Americans based on lifetime prevalence and last reported use and higher frequency of high risk drug behaviors. (SLD)

Figural response items (FRIs) in science were administered to 347 fourth graders, 365 eighth graders, and 322 twelfth graders. Item and test statistics from parallel FRIs and multiple-choice questions illustrate FRIs' more difficult and more discriminating nature. Relevance of guessing to FRIs and diagnostic value of the item type are highlighted.…

Assessment is a cornerstone of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA), and development of appropriate assessments for grades 4, 8, and 12 has been a major focus of KERA implementation. This paper explores the development of performance events, portfolio assessments, and open-ended questions, with an emphasis on open-ended questions and…

This report contains preliminary results from the 1992 mathematics assessment by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) of nationally representative samples of about 26,000 4th, 8th and 12th grade students in 1,500 public schools and private schools in 44 states; and compares data to findings from the 1990 NAEP mathematics tests.…

This investigation examined students attending U.S. and Canadian visual and performing arts secondary schools for distinguishing personality characteristics, locus of control, acceptance of talents, labeling, family dynamics, anxiety levels, perceived personal and school problems, and views of peers, artists/teachers, and counselors. One hundred…

This is the second of four phases of reporting the findings of a study of school mathematics in 24 countries, including the United States. The report consists of five parts: (1) introduction; (2) eighth-grade findings; (3) twelfth-grade findings; (4) student attitudes toward mathematics; and (5) concluding remarks. Supporting documentation…

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO GATHER AND EVALUATE PERTINENT INFORMATION CONCERNING VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN METROPOLITAN OMAHA, NEBRASKA. INFORMATION WAS GATHERED BY QUESTIONNAIRE FROM EIGHTH GRADERS, NINTH GRADERS, 12TH GRADERS, 1963 GRADUATES, DROPOUTS, PARENTS, LABOR UNIONS, APPRENTICES, AND BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS. STUDENTS IN THE EIGHTH…

GRADES OR AGES: K-12. SUBJECT MATTER: English. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The first half of the guide consists of several chapters which give a general outline of the program. The second half is broken down into two sections--"Language in Action" and "Literature in Action"--which outline the program in greater detail. These two sections…

GRADES OR AGES: 7-12; SUBJECT MATTER: Mathematics. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The guide has an introduction and four chapters: 1) A Sample Mathematics Curriculum; 2) The Exceptional Student in Mathematics; 3) Mathematics Components for Comprehensive Occupational Education; 4) Reference Materials. The guide is printed and spiral bound…