This study explores the ways in which public schools are evaluated and the results are reported in North Carolina. Currently using a formula that calculates a summative score based on academic achievement and academic growth, the impact of poverty and the complexity of school evaluation is investigated using demographic and testing data from…

Many school systems ask teachers to assess and report upon aspects of student performance beyond academic achievement. In Ontario, K-12 teachers assess a common set of six Learning Skills and Work Habits. How well teachers are able to undertake these assessments is not well studied. This study examines Grade 9 and 12 report card data from two…

Background: Many empirical investigations focus on how personality traits and academic motivation are related to academic achievement. Regarding the personality traits described in the five-factor model, prior research has shown associations between openness to experience and language achievement in particular. Following the principle of trait…

Although the vast majority of American parents believe their child is performing at or above grade level, in reality two-thirds of U.S. teenagers are ill-prepared for college when they leave high school. Why this enormous disconnect? Could it be that test scores signaling that kids are "less than proficient" don't register with parents…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development and implementation process of the balanced scorecard (BSC) approach in an educational institution in the context of the Turkish educational system. It also aims, on the basis of the results of the applications in a particular school, to define principles through which the…

Out-of-school factors can significantly impact students' readiness to learn and thrive in school. Research confirms that larger social structures and contexts beyond the school are critical, accounting for up to two-thirds of the variance in student achievement (Coleman et al., 1966; Rothstein, 2010; Phillips, Brooks-Gunn, Duncan, Klebanov, &…

This study examines the issues surrounding middle school students' transitions to high school and the degree to which freshman orientation models can help them. The attendance, discipline, report card grades, and end-of-course exams of 60 students who participated in a freshman orientation were compared to those of 150 students who were invited to…

Standards-based progress reports (SBPRs) require teachers to grade students using the performance levels reported by state tests and are an increasingly popular report card format. They may help to increase teacher familiarity with state standards, encourage teachers to exclude nonacademic factors from grades, and/or improve communication with…

The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act requires local education agencies to publicly disseminate school performance data. In response, districts and state departments of education have created "school report cards" that vary widely. While data dissemination policies can improve institutional legitimacy and ensure ongoing support, we suggest…

Self-concept has been found to play a key role in academic and psychosocial outcomes for students. Appreciating the factors that have a bearing upon self-concept may be of particular importance for Aboriginal students, many of whom experience poorer outcomes than non-Aboriginal Canadians. In this study, we conducted a quantitative analysis of the…

This Report Card presents an overview of inequalities in child well-being in 41 countries of the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It focuses on 'bottom-end inequality' -- the gap between children at the bottom and those in the middle -- and addresses the question 'how far behind are…

The strength and direction of relationships between NJ School Report Card Variables (NJ SRC) and 2008-2009 NJ ASK 5 Math and Language Arts Literacy (LAL) student test scores were explored in this non-experimental, quantitative, explanatory study. Variables found to have an influence on standardized test scores in the extant literature were…

Can increasing student perception and engagement though alternative teaching methods, such as introducing math in an everyday context improve student test scores? Literature on this subject suggests improving student engagement and introduction of math in everyday applications can improve student comprehension. This study looks at a second grade…

The increasing prominence of standardized testing to assess student learning motivated the current investigation. We propose that standardized achievement test scores assess competencies determined more by intelligence than by self-control, whereas report card grades assess competencies determined more by self-control than by intelligence. In…

The Latino population in the United States is increasing rapidly, and Latino youth comprise a significant proportion of the overall school-age population. Latino youth, however, demonstrate lower levels of academic achievement. Research also indicates Latino youth consistently report higher levels of depressive symptoms. We examined the relation…