This book describes how educators at Harrison Elementary School in Twin Falls, Idaho, used the Standardized Timed Curriculum (STC) to raise students' standardized test scores. The monograph, which is divided into eight chapters, opens with an overview of testing in schools, the growth of the test-preparation business, and the need for school…

Provides strategies designed to help both mainstream and underrepresented students meet the rhetorical demands of placement exams and gain control in these situations. Describes the University of California Santa Barbara's Preparatory Program which serves a large, culturally diverse student population, acknowledges the variables embedded in the…

Place- and community-based education--an approach to teaching and learning that starts with the local--addresses two critical gaps in the experience of many children now growing up in the United States: contact with the natural world and contact with community. It offers a way to extend young people's attention beyond the classroom to the world as…

Although much has been written about educational evaluation, few guidelines exist for consumers--project directors, school administrators, curriculum developers, legislators, teachers, parents, and boards of education. Several cautions surface from a review of the literature. First, tests that are based on program objectives are most useful to…

The Indiana Basic Competency Skills Testing and Remediation Program manual states that the purpose of the testing program is to assist Indiana's educators with the implementation of remediation programs, and to assess overall educational programs. Procedures for administering the tests of reading, mathematics, and writing in grades 3 and 6 are…

To assist administrators, teachers, and other school personnel in understanding and implementing the various components of the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress (ISTEP) program, this manual details the ISTEP program, a broad-based achievement testing plan providing Indiana schools with a means of assessing their overall…

This resource guide is divided into three sections. The status of the competency movement is described in section I, both on the national level and for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Descriptions of locally developed competency programs in Massachusetts are given in section II and contain information on the area's demography,…

This guide is designed for school principals who bear the responsibility for the successful administration of Virginia's Competency Program. Several aspects of the program are described: legislative background; graduation requirements concerning citizenship and qualifying for further education or work; tests used to assess reading and mathematics…

Recommendations and guidelines are presented for the educational diagnosis of students entering the Los Rios Community College District. The paper first underscores the need for a diagnostic process to help students assess their potential for academic success, and then recommends: (1) the assessment of past academic and work experience, basic…

The technical implementation and operation of the Comprehensive Achievement Monitoring (CAM) system are discussed in this manual. It is written as a guide for those responsible for implementing CAM and for processing CAM-related work requests. Subjects covered include: CAM system operation summary: objectives and test items; conferencing with the…

Details are provided about the American High School Mathematics Examination (AHSME), the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME), and the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO). The AIME will first be offered in 1983 as an intermediate examination between the AHSME and the USAMO. An appendix provides several sample problems. (MP)

The Computerized Test-Result Reporting System (CTRS), which consists of three programs written in the BASIC language, was developed to analyze obective tests, test items, test results, and to provide the teacher-user with interpreted data about the performance of tests, Lest items, and students. This paper documents the three programs from the…

Describes a successful after-school tutoring program that involves teachers, students, and parents, and has resulted in higher scores on both minimum-competency tests and achievement tests. Includes guidelines for starting such a program. (IRT)

The Portland (OR) School District has a long-standing tradition of local achievement test development. Portland prefers to use scores and reporting procedures which capitalize on the advantages of "equal interval" which can be analyzed statistically by all procedures available. Portland testing programs serve a number of purposes: (1)…

In the spring of 1980, the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DODDS) completed its second year of basic skills testing. During the first year, the Basic Skills Assessment Program tested students' math skills in grades 7 and 11, and reading and language skills in grades 9 and 11. During the second year, the testing program was expanded to…