This dissertation is comprised of three essays exploring the performance of students on standardized tests in public schools. Since the passage of the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB) in 2002, public schools have been subject to penalties for poor student achievement. In particular, NCLB requires states to measure reading and math test…

Many colleges and university's use SAT math scores or math placement tests to place students in the appropriate math course. This study compares the use of math placement scores and SAT scores for 188 freshman students. The student's grades and faculty observations were analyzed to determine if the SAT scores and/or college math assessment scores…

This paper presents the full results from a 2008/2009 research study examining the application of a "learning environment" paradigm to the school library setting. The preliminary results from the examination of the Fifth Grade science classes were presented at the IASL 2009 Research Forum. We now report the process of completing our…

Algebra knowledge is a critical part of middle-school mathematics achievement, and success in algebra is necessary for taking higher level mathematics courses and leads to higher scores on standardized tests. The purpose of this study was to simultaneously examine relationships between mathematics beliefs, classroom instructional strategies, and…

Increasingly, academic institutions are being required to improve the validity of the assessment process; unfortunately, often this is at the expense of reliability. In medical schools (such as Leeds), standardized tests of clinical skills, such as "Objective Structured Clinical Examinations" (OSCEs) are widely used to assess clinical…

There is increasing pressure for institutions of higher education in the United States to objectively document student learning outcomes. Criticism of higher education is mounting, with the result being that education institutions need to be more accountable for student learning on their campuses. As a result, there is increased interest in the…

Public schools face raised performance expectations on group-administered achievement tests. In response, educators have implemented various preparation strategies to ready students. However, the research community largely ignores the impact of setting on test performance. This randomized field trial assesses whether or not there were significant…

This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of a ninth grade transition program at a suburban high school in Louisiana. Student data were analyzed from two groups of first time freshmen who indicated a need for help in mathematics: one without a transition program and one with a transition program. Academic data included standardized test…

As the number of learning support assistants (also referred to as classroom assistants, teaching aides, auxiliary support and paraeducators) employed in the primary sector continues to increase, questions concerning the contribution they make to raising standards of attainment remain to be answered. This article reports evidence from a small-scale…

Percentile scores appear to be the easiest standardized test scores for parents to understand. Yet in this true-false test, Hills reveals commonly held misconceptions about percentile score reports. (LC)

The purpose of the analyses reported in this paper was to compare performance on the GED (General Educational Development) Tests, U.S. edition, across three groups of examinees: (a) graduating high school seniors in the GED Tests U.S. 2001 norm group, (b) GED Tests candidates who took one or more tests in the U.S. in 2002-2004, and (c) GED Tests…

Subjected the standardization data for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) and the original Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) to principal-factor analysis. A two-factor solution was adopted for each scale. The stability of the two factors, Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Organization, was high both within and between…

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is widely used to screen university applicants for whom English is not their native language. Although the cutoff scores vary, in Ontario those with scores much lower than 550 are rarely admitted to any university. Two exceptions are the University of Western Ontario and its affiliate, Brescia…

Criticizes the William Bennett/Emily Feistritzer "Report Card on American Education 1993" for misrepresenting the "crisis" condition of U.S. education. State rankings of SAT scores flatten data and exaggerate differences. Bennett also ignores influence of limited English proficiency, poverty, and percentage of test-takers on…

This study examined the effects of mentoring on standardized achievement for African American males in the elementary and middle grades. Mentoring has been deemed effective regarding social development and various academic indicators, but scant empirical data is available regarding the effects of mentoring on standardized testing. Thus,…