A study investigated the validity of a second-language student's actual speed of delivery of a passage read aloud as an indicator of second-language fluency. The study, conducted in Hong Kong with 83 secondary school students, used the oral dialogue test in a standardized secondary school-leaving examination. The dialogues were timed and the rate…

The notion of phenomenal causality of C. Kraft (1991) was applied in the formulation of a self-report instrument to measure student perceptions of the dimensions of academic success. Instrument items were inspired by the students themselves in several hours of dialogue. Subjects were 55 male and 49 female black high school students at a summer…

A formative evaluation of a pilot review and appeal process for the Maryland Writing Test (MWT) is described. The MWT is a large-scale direct assessment of writing. A three-year pilot phase was to culminate in the implementation of an operational procedure for the review and appeal of scores impacting a pass/fail decision for examinees. The MWT…

As part of the current trend toward adopting modern, objective-standardized test methods in evaluating the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the schools of the Socialist Republic of Romania, this review of pedagogical literature makes available to the English-reading audience information that has appeared in Romanian materials.…

This paper explores three programs that are innovatively helping U.S. immigrant students become educated, productive, full-fledged citizens. New York's International High School at LaGuardia Community College, which serves immigrant students only, has extremely high attendance and graduation rates. A top priority is increasing personalization for…

After adjusting for differences in background, women's average SAT-verbal scores were found to be higher than, or nearly equal to, men's. Although women's average SAT-mathematical scores after adjustment are still lower than men's, they are 25 points higher when adjusted for background. This report's analysis establishes that the background…

Average performance on subtests of the Iowa Tests of Educational Development was compared for 177 high school students taking the test under silent reading (standardized) conditions and time limits and students listening to audiotapes of test material as they read the test. Poor readers were helped by the tapes. (SLD)

The search for high school reform leads to William T. McFatter Technical High School in Broward County Public Schools, Florida. The purpose of this article is to highlight key information about the school and to demonstrate the success of its rigorous academic and technical instruction with state-of-the-art technology. By sharing this…

The purpose of this study was to examine the variables that are associated with the percentage of students who pass Tennessee's Gateway exams in high school. Associations were examined between the Gateway exams and variables such as: socioeconomic status, ethnicity, dropout rate, graduation rate, attendance, average daily membership, per-pupil…

Many private schools administer some type of standardized test to prospective students in an attempt to assess the student's potential for success in high school. The test results are used to assist the school in deciding whether to accept the student or to assist in the placement of the student in the appropriate curriculum level. This study…

This summary for administrators describes the Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED), which are broadly based achievement tests for grades 9 through 12. The seven tests in the battery provide information about students' development in skills that are among the fundamental goals of secondary education. Emphasis is on the objectives that…

A procedure was developed to detect differential item functioning (DIF) in a standardized essay test using the Partial Credit Model, the general polychotomous form of the Rasch model. Using a panel of experts in the writing process, hypothesized explanations for DIF at some score points were developed. Data for the study included averaged…

The Fort Hamilton High School (GRASP) Program in New York City was designed to offer bilingual instructional and supportive services to approximately 200 students who were Greek, Arabic, or Spanish. The program was intended for students considered dominant in their respective native languages. The program was set in the Bay Ridge section of…

A set of eight widely used inductive reasoning tests were investigated to determine whether or not they have different factorial structures. The eight inductive tests and three deductive tests, taken from the French Kit of Reference Tests for Cognitive Factors and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, were administered to 157 high school…

This volume is the technical appendixes to the evaluation study (ED 142 795) of the Career Intern Program (CIP), a program effort to help urban youth get a basic education and further training or a paying job. These appendixes include descriptions of the evaluation design, study sample, statistical treatment of the data, and measures used,…