Students learn new instructions well by building on relevant prior knowledge, as it affects how instructors and students interact with the learning materials. Moreover, studies have found that good prior knowledge can enable students to attain better learning motivation, comprehension, and performance. This suggests it is important to assist…

This mixed-methods case study focuses on the third through fifth grade classrooms at a public elementary school in a Midwestern urban school district where the Northwest Evaluation Association's (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment is being implemented. According to the school district, the goals of these tests are: to show…

The purpose of this study was to determine how elementary school administrators in a large U.S. state perceived the overall effects of testing on education in general and, more specifically, on their instructional leadership responsibilities. We surveyed 325 Florida principals and assistant principals, many of whom viewed the testing program…

A well-established principle in the literature on learning, which maintains that variability of practice enhances long-term retention, served as the foundation of a summer program intended to ameliorate reading skills in incoming freshmen. During a 4-week period, students received reading instruction in the context of four areas: humanities,…

This study produced by the Eurydice network gives a detailed picture of the context and organisation of national tests in 30 European countries and the use made of test results in informing education policy and practice and in guiding the school career of pupils. It presents the diverse choices made by European countries regarding the objectives,…

Critics of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) suggest that the effects of state-mandated testing are primarily negative, causing teachers to narrow the curriculum and drill students on tested material. However, the implementation of assessment programs that provide rapid diagnostic information about student progress may allow teachers to prepare…

The Stanford Achievement Test (SAT), Test of Academic Skills Level I was administered to 10,186 tenth grade students in Hawaii during fall 1984. This two-section report presents findings from the SAT's mathematics subtest. This subtest measured students' competency in these nine areas: numbers, symbols, and sets; number properties and operations…

The Stanford Achievement Test (SAT), Intermediate Level II, was administered to 11,077 sixth grade students during fall 1984. This two-section report presents findings of the SAT's three mathematics subtests. These subtests measured competency related to: (1) mathematics concepts (number, notation, operations, and geometry/measurement), (2)…

The Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) was administered to 11,114 eighth grade students during fall 1984. This two-section report presents findings of the SAT's three mathematics subtests. These subtests measured achievement relative to mathematics concepts (number, notation, operations, and geometry and measurement), computation, and applications…

Demonstrates that Advanced Placement (AP) courses may not be appropriate for every student. Discusses the process of selecting students for AP U.S. history. Criteria include an application, summer sessions, and evidence of motivation to excel in the program. Considers the effects of this policy. (CMK)

The purpose of the research project was to determine the effectiveness of a comprehensive career orientation program in increasing awareness of self and of career opportunities in students of rural areas. Conducted with grades 7 and 8 in LePera school in Parker, Arizona from May 1973 to October 1974, the program provided occupational information…

This study reports evidence that early childhood programs can have an impact on the academic careers of children from low-income homes. A wide variety of status and process variables were collected by several individual investigators over four waves, or time periods, of data collection. Before pooling data from 14 longitudinal research and…

As part of the Quality Assurance procedures, a final test was administered to a sample of the classes participating in the 1970-71 Instructional Concepts Program (ICP). The posttest was designed to measure end-of-program performance on each of the six program outcomes: Color, Shape, Size, Position, Amount, and Pre-Mathematics. This report…

To aid in evaluating the First Year Communication Skills Program (FYCSP) and the Instructional Concepts Program (ICP) several tests were administered to two classes of kindergarten children. The objectives of the ICP were based on concepts that children would be expected to know when they entered the primary grades. The Instructional Concepts Test…

This report is a series on the Program of Special Directed Studies for Transition to College (PSDS), which is a five-year experimental education project aimed at providing a full four-year high-quality college education for disadvantaged youths who would probably not otherwise have been eligible for admission to most four-year colleges. A research…