Many English Language Learners (ELLs) migrate to the United States at older ages and administrators must choose a grade in which to place these new entrants as soon as they register for school. In this study, I estimate the effect of grade placement on the short-term academic performance of ELLs who enroll in the Miami-Dade County Public School…

A major concern among opponents to charter schools is whether these schools will serve all students. Some have raised concerns that charter schools will "push out" low-achieving students in hopes of improving the schools' academic profile while minimizing costs by educating fewer challenging students. In this article, we use data…

Evaluation of early childhood special education programs are constrained by the nature of the population served, the impossibility of random assignment, the absence of control groups, and the absence of normed standardized measures. This paper critically examines the components of evaluations which have overcome these difficulties and highlights…

Data from the 1990 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the 1990 High School Transcript Study are used to compare students' course-taking patterns with their NAEP achievement scores and schools' graduation requirements. Relatively few students were affected by these requirements. Results suggest that marginal students could…

Analyzed the impact of high-stakes testing in Chicago, Illinois, on student achievement in grades targeted for promotional decisions using data from the school system for grades 3, 6, and 8. Findings show that student achievement increased substantially following the introduction of high stakes tests in Chicago, especially at grades 6 and 8. (SLD)

The usefulness of the 1992 TSA in reading was studied using interviews from 26 state directors of assessment. Perceptions about TSA credibility and orientation of test components and current use of TSA results were examined. The directors suggested involving more teachers in assessment, modifying descriptors, disseminating results quicker, and…

The validity and reliability of some measures of general education outcomes of college attendance are reviewed. Research to improve the accuracy of concordance estimates of mean gains is reported, based on analysis of 22 4-year longitudinal studies using instruments from the College Outcome Measures Program. (SLD)

A study of a program requiring participation in basic education by adult recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) finds only small education effects. Positive results from some sites suggest that a focused program effort may result in increased numbers of equivalency certificates and improved achievement test scores. (SLD)

The relationship between performance on tests of minimum competency (MCT) required for high school graduation and dropout behavior was studied with 76,664 Florida students. Results indicate that MCT failure increases the likelihood of leaving school only for students doing well academically, but not for minority students or those doing poorly.…

Examines Dade County (Florida) Public Schools' process for exiting limited English-proficient students (LEPSs) from the English-for-Speakers-of-Other-Languages (ESOL) Program. Results with 500 LEPSs show that exiters perform successfully in regular classrooms. The Stanford Achievement Test discriminated between LEPS and non-LEPS performance on…