The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the fourth in a series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief focuses on literacy education. While literacy's definition continues to expand to…

In preparation for her school's celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Elizabeth Brown developed an integrated language arts and social studies one-week unit of study on the civil rights movement, where she reinforced reading, writing, and speaking skills. The overarching goals for the five-day lesson on Dr. King's "I Have a…

The purpose of this study was to determine specific knowledge and skills that students need to be successful in higher education in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Department of Education has created the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards which K-12 institutions must utilize as a foundation for their respective curricula.…

"Ready, Set, Leap!"[R] is a comprehensive preschool curriculum that focuses on early reading skills such as phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, and letter-sound correspondence using multi-sensory technology that incorporates touch, sight, and sound. The "Ready, Set, Leap!"[R] curriculum is available in English and Spanish.…

UNDER TITLE VI OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE EDUCATION ACT THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA (MLA) UNDERTOOK IN 1960 TO PREPARE A SERIES OF TESTS IN FRENCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN, RUSSIAN. AND SPANISH FOR USE OF TWO LEVELS--(1) AFTER THE 2D YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL LANGUAGE STUDY, OR THE SECOND SEMESTER IN COLLEGE, AND (2) AFTER THE 4TH YEAR OF HIGH…

In March 1977, the New Jersey Board of Higher Education created the New Jersey Basic Skills Assessment Program. To direct the program, the Board created the Basic Skills Council, which was charged with developing a test in reading, writing, and mathematics for all freshmen entering all New Jersey public colleges and universities. The purpose was…

The New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test (NJCBSPT) was instituted in 1978 as a proficiency examination designed to measure the reading, writing, and mathematics skills of students entering college. In spring and summer 1982, 51,135 students at New Jersey's state and county colleges and at 10 independent colleges took the NJCBSPT. Of…

An evaluation is presented of the remedial programs in each of New Jersey's 32 public colleges and universities. The academic outcome of full-time students entering in fall 1984 is tracked over four semesters. This analysis combines measures of the colleges' administrative efficiency in testing and enrolling students in needed remedial courses,…

This booklet describes the test development process used to upgrade New Jersey's basic skills competency test, the High School Proficiency Test (HSPT). Ninth-grade students in New Jersey public schools must pass this test of reading, writing, and mathematics skills in order to receive a state endorsed high school diploma. Test development…

This informational booklet outlines the services available to New Jersey elementary school children in the area of basic skills development and offers suggestions as to how parents can support their child's educational development. The first part of the guide outlines the content, admissions criteria, and funding sources of New Jersey's Basic…

The New Jersey Basic Skills Council seventh annual report to the Board of Higher Education looks at the status of the reading, writing, and mathematical skills of incoming freshmen and of the effectiveness of remedial programs in its public colleges and universities. A comparison is presented of students who needed and completed remediation;…