This full-color publication uses a tabloid format to present highlights from the National Assessment of Educational Progress 2002 writing assessment. It describes assessment content; presents major findings as average scale scores and as percentages of students scoring at or above achievement levels for the nation, at grades 4, 8, and 12; shows…

This report presents the results of the 2002 assessment in writing from the National Assessment of Educational Progress for the nation and for the participating states and jurisdictions. Comparisons are made to performance in the national assessment of 1998 at grades 4, 8, and 12. Comparison data are given within and across participating states…

This report presents the results of the 1998 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) writing assessment of fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students for the nation and for participating states or jurisdictions. It provides results for subgroups of students defined by various background and contextual characteristics. The Introduction…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the nation's only ongoing survey of what students know and can do in various academic subject areas. This report summarizes the results of the 1998 NAEP civics assessment for the nation. The results are based on an assessment of students at grade 4, grade 8, and grade 12. Students'…

The 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) civics assessment contained a combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Each student participating in the assessment received two 25-minute sections of questions. Most civics questions measured both knowledge and intellectual skills. In addition, some questions measured…

Each year over one million high school students complete the SAT[superscript R] I. Information on repeat testing and the probability that a student's SAT I score will change may help students and educators make better-informed decisions about retesting. This information would also be useful for high school counselors who advise students regarding…

Describes a year-long elective film course in modern U.S. history for twelfth grade students. Explains course methodology and objectives. Analyzes selected films to illustrate how the course elucidates the consensus-conflict theme in U.S. history since the 1930s and enhances student understanding of Hollywood's perspective on gender, race, and…

Study investigated the effectiveness of four instructional strategies on secondary students' argumentative writing, noting how different essay qualities influenced holistic scoring. Researchers found no significant differences in instructional strategy effectiveness or use of holistic scoring. Students' prior knowledge affected their ability to…

Surveys of drug and alcohol use conducted with 4,367 Mexican-American and 3,790 White non-Hispanic eighth and twelfth graders from similar communities find generally higher rates of substance use by Mexican Americans based on lifetime prevalence and last reported use and higher frequency of high risk drug behaviors. (SLD)

Figural response items (FRIs) in science were administered to 347 fourth graders, 365 eighth graders, and 322 twelfth graders. Item and test statistics from parallel FRIs and multiple-choice questions illustrate FRIs' more difficult and more discriminating nature. Relevance of guessing to FRIs and diagnostic value of the item type are highlighted.…

Describes a twelfth grade oral-history teaching project with multi-ethnic U.S. history senior students. Stresses that the project helps students think about and understand today's world by developing historical understanding. Activities include designing questionnaires, conducting interviews, writing biographical sketches, and producing a…

The working memory hypothesis that the development of span in children is related to increasing proficiency in the use of an articulatory loop was tested in two studies with 120 Canadian children in grades 5 and 6 and 11 and 12. Some support was found for the hypothesis. (SLD)

Results are presented of an evaluation of effects of the within-classroom component of the Second International Science Study on science learning processes and products at the twelfth-grade level in Hong Kong. Partial Least Squares Path (PLSPATH) analysis is used to model the data obtained from 6,103 students in 217 classrooms. (SLD)

The performance of 254 Israeli twelfth graders on multiple-choice tests with positive or negative item stems was studied. For items requiring low cognitive reasoning, performance does not differ, but, for items requiring high cognitive reasoning, the negative mode is more difficult. Implications for test construction are discussed. (SLD)

Assessment is a cornerstone of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA), and development of appropriate assessments for grades 4, 8, and 12 has been a major focus of KERA implementation. This paper explores the development of performance events, portfolio assessments, and open-ended questions, with an emphasis on open-ended questions and…