The School Composition and the Black-White Achievement Gap study was undertaken by the National Center for Education Statistics to present both descriptive and associative information on the relationships among the percentage of students in a school who were Black (referred to as "Black student density" or "density"), the…

Since its inception, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has been committed to the practice of documenting its statistical methods for its customers and of seeking to avoid misinterpretation of its published data. The reason for this policy is to assure customers that proper statistical standards and techniques have been observed,…

At present, although the percentages of students with disabilities (SDs) and/or students who are English language learners (ELL) excluded from a NAEP administration are reported, no statistical adjustment is made for these excluded students in the calculation of NAEP results. However, the exclusion rates for both SD and ELL students vary…

In recent assessments, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has permitted schools to exclude some students with disabilities or limited English proficiency because it believed that its assessments would not accurately measure the ability and achievement levels of these students. The exclusion of a portion of students from…

Four researchers at the Educational Testing Service describe what they consider some of the most vexing research problems they face. While these problems are not completely statistical, they all have major statistical components. Following the introduction (section 1), in section 2, "Problems with the Simultaneous Estimation of Many True…

In studies involving matrix sampling on items, it is often the case that there are too few responses per individual to use latent trait item response models. A model is formulated wherein individual level variability appears as independent error within the cells of a cross classification of demographic variables. (JKS)

Efficient methods of using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to analyze National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data files are discussed. One error in the NAEP SPSS file is discussed, and another error (which may be system-dependent) is mentioned. In addition, purely mathematical methods are used to address the…

This report presents results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1994 trend assessments in science, mathematics, reading, and writing. To provide a numeric summary to students' performance on the assessments, the NAEP used a 0 to 500 scale for each subject area. Comparisons of average scale scores are provided across the…

Measuring student progress toward higher achievement has been the purpose of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) since its inception in 1969. Students in both public and nonpublic schools have been assessed in various subject areas on a regular basis. This report presents results of the 1994 NAEP trend assessments in science,…

This report of the results of the 1974-75 Florida National Assessment Replication in reading and mathematics at the 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old age levels consists of several major parts: an overview of the assessment design and methodology, comparisons of performance levels for groups of Florida students within each age level, comparisons of…