In the spring of 1988, the Massachusetts Department of Education administered its second biennial assessment (the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program) of students in grades 4, 8, and 12 in reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. This report discusses the use of open-ended questions in the tests of social studies. One-twelfth of…

An instrument used to assess educational environments for computers as new tools for teaching and learning was studied in grades 2, 3, and 4 of the Atlanta (Georgia) Public Schools (APS) in May 1990. The instrument contained 46 items indexing: (1) the immediate and expanded spaces for the computer stations; (2) the presence of software and…

Formative evaluation of program implementation and student performance was used to assess a new writing program used in 11 elementary schools in Hillsborough County (Florida). Twenty-one teachers and 600 students in grades 4 and 5 participated. Teachers were interviewed, and students completed an attitude survey. In addition, 4 writing samples…

This study is an analysis of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) School Questionnaire administered across three grade levels (grades 4, 8, and 12) during the 1987-88 school year. The data obtained from the school questionnaire represent one level of NAEP's data collection activities, in addition to the teacher questionnaires and…

Whether teachers, in the absence of standardized test scores, can adequately identify students who require remedial services or are at risk of failing a literacy test was studied. During the 1987-88 school year 22 fourth-grade teachers were asked to identify which of 530 students of various ethnic backgrounds would score in the top or bottom…

Designed to emphasize mathematics skills and science processes, this booklet contains activities which provide students of grades three and four with opportunities to explore and discover aspects related to geometry, structure, and measurement. Hands-on activities are presented on skyscrapers, bridges, bubble planes, and model structures. Eighteen…

This manual contains the statistics generated from the Pennsylvania Quality Education Assessment (QEA) administered in 1986. The assessment was to evaluate the achievement of certain educational objectives in grades 4, 6, 7, 9, and 11 in the public schools. The tests were in the following areas: reading comprehension, writing skills, mathematics,…

The guide, written in Spanish, comprises the fourth grade unit of a career education curriculum for migrant students. Focus of the unit is on the tools and tasks of workers in 11 jobs in the construction, communication, and media occupational clusters: heavy equipment operator, architect, mason, carpenter, plumber, electrician, telephone line…

The primary purpose of the Statewide Testing Program is to assess the achievement of 4th, 5th, and 10th grade students in South Carolina public schools. The results provide educators with information which facilitates the decision-making process at the State, district, and school levels. For the third consecutive year, Form U of the Comprehensive…

A study examined whether writing modeled from children's picture books would improve reading comprehension of fourth and fifth graders as much as traditional skills instruction. Subjects, 69 children reading at least one year below grade level from six Chapter 1 Colorado schools, were pretested for reading comprehension levels. Subjects were then…

Two intermediate elementary schools in the Bay Shore District of Bay Shore, New York, were studied to assess the impact upon student achievement of a program in cooperative learning applied to mathematics, reading, and writing. The schools include the Gardiner Manor and South Country Schools; in the 1986-87 school year, 510 students attended the…

This summary report from The Nation's Report Card offers a synthesis of findings from recent national assessments of American education for 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students in a variety of subject areas. Areas covered include reading, writing, mathematics, science, American history, literature, and computer competence. Trends in academic…

This document compiles compensatory education program data submitted to the Georgia State Department by local school systems in their 1982-83 annual reports. The first section describes state administration of grant funds (i.e., appropriations bills, procedures for allocating funds, program plans, and program monitoring). Specifically mentioned…

This instructional guide suggests a way for teachers of fourth grade students to organize a social studies unit related to the study of Maryland. The eight to ten week unit is divided into four sections. Section I, a general unit outline, presents organizing concepts and questions, instructional objectives, and suggested topics for study. Section…

Sixty grade four pupils of the Philippine Normal College Laboratory were involved in a study to determine the effect of language of material, type of material, and ability level on their reading comprehension. The materials were either unilingual English (E/E), unilingual Pilipino (P/P), or consisted of a text in English followed by questions in…