In the spring of 1988, Massachusetts conducted its second Educational Assessment Program to assess the performance of students in grades 4, 8, and 12 in reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. Students' responses to open-ended questions in one form of the reading test were studied. One-twelfth of the fourth-graders, one-sixteenth of the…

Spring 1984 achievement test results for court-identified, minority isolated (MI) schools in the San Diego Unified School District are reported. The Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) were used to measure progress in the areas of reading, language, and mathematics. Language and math scores trended upwards across grades; reading also…

A comparison of achievement and personal adjustment of Spanish-speaking students in an experimental bilingual school environment at the first grade level was the purpose of the Harlandale instructional project. This evaluation report presents comparative data from the testing program used to establish the effectiveness of bilingual education when…

The Nevada Proficiency Examination Program was established by legislative mandate in 1977. It consists of two major assessment efforts: administration of a nationally normed test to grades 3, 6, and 9; and the testing of all 11th graders in reading, writing, and mathematics. Students must pass all three examinations as a precondition for receiving…

The performance of 2,000 academically talented seventh-grade students on the American College Testing Program (ACT) Assessment was investigated in comparison with 2,000 college-bound 12th-grade examinees. Data from the February 1988 and February 1989 administrations of the ACT were used. Differential test performance and item performance were…

The impact of cohort changes with regard to ethnic group, gender, class rank, and first language learned on yearly average Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and Test of Standard Written English (TSWE) scores was studied. All examinee records, including student test scores and student responses to the Student Descriptive Questionnaire, in the College…

Sex differences in variability in the national norms of the Differential Aptitude Tests, Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/Scholastic Aptitude Test, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales, and California Achievement Tests were examined. Compared to females, males were consistently more variable in quantitative reasoning, spatial visualization,…

A substantially revised Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) was introduced in spring 1991. The new examination is designed to assess critical thinking skills, basic concepts and problem solving facility in science, and writing skills. This paper reports preliminary findings on the factor structure of the revised MCAT, which consists of four…

Province-wide results from the Diploma Examinations Program of the Alberta (Canada) schools are presented for the three examinations of the entire 1991-92 school year (January, June, and August). The annual report also provides summaries of results by gender, for population subgroups, and for achievement-over-time studies. School marks,…

This report presents a summary of information about the use in Massachusetts of open-ended questions in the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program's biennial assessment of mathematics at grades 4, 8, and 12. These questions appeared in one form of the tests in each grade. One-twelfth of the fourth-graders, one-sixteenth of the…

Results from North Carolina's End-of-Course Testing Program in 1989-90 are presented. Participation, student characteristics, and achievement are summarized, largely in table form, for the following subject areas: (1) Algebra I, (2) Geometry, (3) Algebra II, (4) Biology, (5) Chemistry, (6) Physics, (7) U.S. History, and (8) English I. Background…

The increased use of criterion-referenced statewide testing programs is an outgrowth of the need for more diagnostic information for planning and decision making than is provided by norm-referenced programs. There remains, however, a need for state agencies to compare the results of local districts to a variety of comparison groups for the purpose…

Recent trends in achievement test scores among elementary and secondary school students in Iowa are examined. Form 7 of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) was used to measure the achievement of students in grades 3 and 7; and Form X-7 of the Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED) was used for 11th graders. These grade levels were chosen…

The Elementary School Curriculum Efficacy Program (ESCEP) of the Detroit (Michigan) Public Schools is intended to improve the academic performance of students through the development of positive attitudes toward learning. The ESCEP introduces students to a process of self-exploration that better enables them to understand their personal…

This report provides an overview of the Oklahoma School Testing Program (OSTP) and summarizes students' average writing assessment scores from 1987 through 1992. Oklahoma has completed its 6th year of administering a state legislature mandated test to 10th graders and its 5th year of testing 7th graders. The Stanford Writing Assessment Program was…