Reports results of research on efforts by the Houston School District to raise students' reading and mathematics scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Houston lowered the achievement gap between whites and Hispanics and African-Americans and made greater gains than the five other major urban school districts. (PKP)

Examines the effect of peers on elementary grade reading and mathematics scores. Finds, for example, that third-grade girls score higher on reading tests in all-female classes, that boys and girls score higher in mathematics in classes with larger percentages of females, and that Hispanic students score higher in mathematics and reading when class…

Contests the State of Texas argument in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) case that historical discrimination against African Americans and Mexican Americans is unrelated to their TAAS outcomes. Examines contemporary de facto school segregation, distribution of substandard teachers, and the relationship of these factors to student…

Applies four measures of disparate impact (four-fifths rule, Hazelwood rule, Shoben rule, and rule of practical significance) to Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) performance data for racial/ethnic groups. Compares findings to data on school quality and math course completion by racial/ethnic group. (Contains 21 references.) (SV)

The under-representation of African American and Hispanic American students among high achievers on standardized tests, honors graduates of most colleges, and practitioners of mathematics and science professions is well-documented. This paper explores the extent to which the current educational reform movement is achieving the goal of…

Examines some problems of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS): multiple cutoff scores for passing the test and receiving a high school diploma, and artificially "tricky" items that disproportionately confuse language-minority students. Uses factor analysis and simulations to show ways to improve item selection for the TAAS.…

This report presents analyses of data from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) reading measures. It evaluates outcomes in all of the 111 Texas schools that began Success for All from 1994-97. Success for All is a comprehensive reform model for elementary schools, especially Title I schoolwide projects. TAAS reading scores were collected…

The verdict in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) case undermined the concept of educational equity by equating it with sameness. Testimony was excluded that revealed bureaucratic processes creating new inequities: overemphasis on test preparation and manipulation of students' grade level designations to artificially improve…

Data from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) reveal that gains in performance for the African American student population of Region VII of the state's educational system were not keeping pace with the performance of African Americans in the rest of Texas. This study investigated practices in school districts in the region in which…

Reviews major issues germane to the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) case. Discusses the second wave of Texas standards-based reform that would institutionalize retention for students failing a state-mandated achievement test, proposed federal legislation limiting use of high stakes tests, and psychometric and policy lessons learned from…

Uses a panel dataset for schools in large Texas cities to compare student performance gains in Dallas, site of a school-based incentive program, with those in four other cities. Results show positive, relatively large effects for Hispanic and white seventh graders, but not for black students or third graders. (MLH)

Results of standardized tests taken by students in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District are reported. Emphasis is on tests developed for the state of Texas, but results from other standardized tests are also reported. In October 1990, 22,443 students in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 took the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS),…

Reviews legal claims made by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund on behalf of plaintiffs challenging the Texas graduation requirement that students pass the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Discusses the requirement as a violation of minority students' equal protection and due process rights. Analyzes court actions and the…

This study examines the October 1991 exit-level Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) mathematics results of 18,290 11th-grade Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and White non-Hispanic Americans from Texas urban districts. Substantial differences existed in the passing rates of the three ethnic groups. The passing rate for White…