Uses data from the North Carolina End-of-Grade test of eighth-grade mathematics to estimate the achievement results on the scale of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Trial State Assessment. Uses linear regression models to develop projection equations to predict state NAEP results. (SLD)

Tested 101 adults, aged 77, who had completed psychometric intelligence testing in 1932, with the same test of mental ability. Results of this study, the longest follow-up study reported to date, show substantial stability in mental ability differences from childhood to late life. (SLD)

Models the relationship between a variety of Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) (National Center for Education Statistics) school-level data and average student assessment scores. Findings demonstrate the potential value of combining SASS with school-level assessment data as well as some limitations of the restricted set of analyses reported.…

Assessed the metacognitive processes of self-confidence and self-evaluation in 339 Australian college students. Analyses of overall performance show that an "easy-difficult" distinction provides a reasonable account of the calibration data that show over- and underconfidence. Analyses also confirm the presence of a strong self-confidence…

North Carolina's ABC program, part of a state effort to improve school performance, calls for greater accountability, a back-to-basics emphasis, and more local control in planning and implementing programs. In response, results of the East Carolina University Math/Art Project, a study to determine the effects of interdisciplinary art and math…

This special issue focuses on findings from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) from Germany, South Africa, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. It consists of five contributions covering a variety of topics and research methodologies. Some articles are primarily descriptive; others focus on relational analyses. (SLD)

Whether geography is taught alone or "infused" into social studies, U.S. students' knowledge is minimal, according to recent National Assessment of Educational Progress geography test results for 19,000 students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Curriculum specialists say geography coverage is incidental. The National Geographic Society is trying…

Statistical and theoretical issues that arise from assessing person-fit on measures of typical performance are discussed, including the frequent attenuation of detection of person-misfit, the need for methods of identifying sources of response aberrancy, and person-fit measures as moderators of trait-criterion relations. (SLD)

Summarizes data related to the stability and variation in the norms for the Raven's Progressive Matrices Test (J. Raven, 1936), a measure of basic cognitive functioning, for different cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups worldwide and within countries. Also considers variation over time and suggests an explanation for the variation in norms…

Assessed accuracy of students' preexamination expectancies and postexamination grade evaluations, gender differences in expectations, and the role of experience in expectations with 131 college students. Male students overestimated their grades more than did female students, but only for one of the two courses studied. (SLD)

Like a lot of superintendents, Pennsylvania's Steve Iovino believes in a simple axiom: the more student test data the better. Warwick School District, a 4,100-student district located in southeastern Pennsylvania, tested its students even in years when state-mandated exams were not required. But Iovino did not know exactly what to make of all this…

Results of tests of students' skills and knowledge conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the state accountability tests required by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program should not be compared. The two tests are based on different standards and have different measurement functions and judging the results of one…

A critical, but often neglected, component of any large-scale assessment program is the reporting of test results. In the past decade, a body of evidence has been compiled that raises concerns over the ways in which these results are reported to and understood by their intended audiences. In this study, current approaches for reporting…

The success of standards-based education systems depends on 2 elements: strong standards, and assessments that measure what the standards expect. States that have or adopt test-based accountability programs claim that their tests are aligned to their standards. But there has been up to now no independent methodology for checking alignment. This…

We evaluated a project designed to expose introductory psychology students to the fields of psychology. We created this project to foster student learning about the various fields of psychology, careers that psychologists have, the psychology program on their campus, and courses available at their home institution. Evaluative data included…