This report describes the aggregated reading and mathematics performances of students in years 5 and 7 in urban Northern Territory (Australia) schools on the Primary Assessment Program (PAP) tests. The aggregated results are encouraging, with apparent gains in some reading tests over the preceding year, and no evidence of decline in the others.…

Studies the writing achievement of 28 11-year olds attending an urban Newcastle upon Tyne (England) school and their ability to conform to standard English writing conventions. Finds the influence of a nonstandard dialect (Tyneside) to be minor. Observes writing difficulties are frequently related to mastering the writing system itself rather than…

An essay to test writing skill has been administered to North Carolina sixth and eighth graders for 10 years. In 1992-93, fourth graders were also tested. Each year compositions are graded by readers trained to apply a uniform set of criteria to the essays. Composition criteria are main ideas, supporting detail, organization, and coherence. A…

This report evaluates the implementation of the "Long-Range Magnet School Plan" at Southwest High School, a mathematics and science magnet school in Kansas City, Missouri. The evaluation covers the academic years from 1988-89 through 1990-91. After an executive summary and an introduction that describes the program, the report is…

The Kansas City, Missouri, Long Range Magnet School Plan includes the development of math/science elementary schools. These schools emphasize investigative learning through exploration and problem-solving activities. This document is a formative evaluation of the progress in the implementation of the magnet theme during the 1990-1991 school year…

This third annual report documents performance of Florida public high school graduates who became first-time-in-college students at public postsecondary institutions throughout the State within 1 year after graduation. The outcome report reflects the preparedness of Florida students for postsecondary education by documenting the number and…

This study investigated the school adjustment of 1,300 low-income, minority children in the Chicago Public Schools. Chidren's progress from preschool to fourth grade was traced. Data were collected from teachers, parents, children, and computerized records. The study primarily examined mediated effects of preschool; influences on cognitive growth…

Collective teacher efficacy (CTE) refers to the collective perception that teachers in a given school make an educational difference to their students over and above the educational impact of their homes and communities. Significant positive relationships were found between CTE and student achievement on the grade 8 math, writing, and English…

This study compared the inclusive PIER program (French acronym for program intervention with at risk students), which was implemented in 13 third grade classes in Quebec (Canada) and compared with 13 third grade classes using a traditional resource room pull-out program over the course of a full school year. A total of 165 at-risk and 441 non…

The Connecticut Mastery Test testing program assesses essential skills in mathematics and language arts, including listening, reading, and writing, for grades 4, 6, and 8. For grade 8, student achievement is measured and reported in relation to specific learning objectives (criterion-referenced) that students can reasonably be expected to have…

For the first time, Asian and Pacific-Islander (API) eighth-grade students taking part in the California Assessment Program (CAP) were identified as belonging to one of the following 10 API ethnic groups: Asian-Indian, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Pacific-Islander, and Vietnamese. In school districts associated…

Good news about reading achievement of career-bound students at High Schools That Work (HSTW) sites includes the following: (1) 60% of the 260 sites that tested students in 1993/94 and again in 1996 saw improvement in reading scores; (2) the performance of all students majority and minority improved significantly; (3) HSTW sites widened the gap…

English-as-a-Second-Language university students in a multiple-draft composition setting were found to pay more attention to teachers' comments on preliminary drafts than on final drafts; pay most attention to comments on grammar; and consider teachers' comments helpful overall. Problems with teacher comments and implications of the study are…

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) "Special Education at a Glance," which includes a copy of the "Guide to Planning and Assessing School-Based Special Education Programs," provides in a single document, information about the special education population at each Montgomery County (Maryland) public school, including…

This study assessed the effects of Instrumental Enrichment (IE) instruction with minority students on a non-verbal measure of students' intelligence (the Progressive Matrices test), on students' report card marks, and on students' City-Wide Test nationally-normed reading and mathematics scores in the School District of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania).…