The purpose of this study was to examine eighth grade students' algebra achievement scores across various states, over years, and by students' demographics (including ethnicity/race, language spoken at home, SES factors, and academic resources). The questions guiding the study were, (a) What are the differences in eighth grade students' algebra…

In the absence of clear incentives, achievement tests may be subject to the effect of slipping where item response functions have upper asymptotes below one. Slipping reduces score precision for higher latent scores and distorts test developers' understandings of item and test information. A multidimensional four-parameter normal ogive model was…

Just for a change, would it not be nice to hear talk about keeping and/or expanding full-time art specialists' presence in schools and maintaining strong art education programs at the college and university level? That conversation could result from the positive arguments we are providing in this article. The purpose of this article is to clarify…

Background/Context: Regression discontinuity (RD) designs are used for policy and program evaluation where subjects' eligibility into a program or policy is determined by whether an assignment variable (i.e., running variable) exceeds a pre-defined cutoff. Under a standard RD design with a continuous assignment variable, the average treatment…

This study uses high school transcript data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) High School Transcript Study (HSTS) to determine the validity of student-reported high school courses on the NAEP twelfth-grade student questionnaire. Given that the HSTS is not administered as part of every NAEP twelfth-grade assessment,…

U.S. school districts differ dramatically in their socioeconomic and demographic characteristics (Reardon, Yun, & Eitle, 1999; Stroub & Richards, 2013), and districts have considerable influence over instructional and organizational practices that may affect academic achievement (Whitehurst, Chingos, & Gallaher, 2013). This paper…

Building on the rich tradition of 'teacher as researcher' in mathematics education, I describe a study undertaken whilst working as a mathematics specialist in an Australian primary school. The focus of the study was on examining whether explicitly teaching students test-taking strategies ('test-wiseness') improved their performance on a…

The aim of this paper was to examine the relationship between Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) mathematics achievement and the two school achievement measures of grades and national test results in Sweden. A further aim was to examine the association of TIMSS mathematics achievement with different subgroups of students. The results…

Up until 2020, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading scores had increased only slightly since the early 1990s with large achievement gaps for students of color and students living in poverty. Modest gains in fourth grade reading proficiency since 1992 were erased during the pandemic. The insufficient progress in reading even…

Since its introduction in 2017, NFER has been contracted by Ofqual to develop, deliver and analyse the results of the National Reference Test (NRT) in English and maths. The NRT is administered annually and shows if student performance in English and maths at GCSE level has changed from year to year. The NRT results are based on analysis of data…

The research aimed to develop and evaluate teacher concepts and performances before and after training through coaching and mentoring procedures integrated with the 21st century instructional strategies of project-based learning, problem-based learning, and research-based learning. The subjects were 96 teachers teaching at schools under the…

The point at which the corners of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet is the only spot in the United States where the borders of four states converge. Beyond geography, the Four Corners states share a similar approach to charter schooling. All four states have adopted relatively freewheeling authorization policies, and charter schools…

In the past 15 years, four-year-olds' enrollment in state-funded pre-kindergarten in the United States has doubled, and advocates have pushed for further expansion. Although research has shown that pre-K programs can have important benefits, most existing studies have focused on small or state-specific programs that may not generalize to other…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation's Report Card, is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what students know about mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography, U.S. history, and technology and engineering literacy. This fact sheet reports…

This study finds that, breaking with decades of slow improvement, U.S. reading and math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and other assessments have seen historic declines since most states implemented national Common Core English and math curriculum standards six years ago. This descriptive analysis is designed to…