The Effective Schools Pilot Project, conceived in fall 1983, was designed to improve selected schools by focusing resources to assist six elementary schools in developing strategies for self-assessment and renewal through participatory decision-making. Phase I of the project (1983-1984) resulted in a set of research-based school improvement plans…

Research on an interpretation technique (IT) for using the Pupil Item Response Record (PIRR) of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) to actively involve students in their test interpretation was presented. The major concern of the study was to determine whether the IT had any impact on attitudes toward or knowledge about the ITBS. Students in…

The Des Moines (Iowa) Independent Community School District Chapter I Mathematics Program served 1,110 students in grades 2-8. Chapter I Math students in grades two through six achieved gains on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills from pre to posttesting. Scores on these tests are reported using a metric known as the Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE). The…

The Des Moines (Iowa) Independent Community School District Chapter I Reading Program served 1,850 students in grades 2-9. Chapter I students displayed gains between pre- and posttesting with the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and Iowa Tests of Educational Development. The total population of Chapter I students who completed both a pre and posttest…