Community-based education programs must demonstrate effectiveness to various funding sources. The pilot study reported here (funded by CYFAR, NIFA, USDA award #2008-41520-04810) had the goal of determining if state level programs with varied curriculum could use a common evaluation tool to demonstrate efficacy. Results in parenting and youth…

This article proposes that sampling design effects have potentially huge unrecognized impacts on the results reported by large-scale district and state assessments in the United States. When design effects are unrecognized and unaccounted for they lead to underestimating the sampling error in item and test statistics. Underestimating the sampling…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and perceived pedagogical utility of a multidimensional weighted performance assessment rubric used in Kansas state high school large-group festivals. Data were adjudicator rubrics (N = 2,016) and adjudicator and director questionnaires (N = 515). Rubric internal consistency was…

Pennsylvania's Educational Quality Assessment Program provides each participating school with a building level report in which state percentiles are a prominent part. Multiple matrix sampling was being considered as a technique to reduce testing time. However, there was great concern that the error associated with estimating the school mean might…

A set of procedures were developed for evaluating the State Capacity Building Programs; (SCBP), state projects for increasing facilities for the dissemination of information related to education. Six scales were developed, based on questionnaire items, to evaluate the following six facets of state information-dissemination systems: comprehensive…

Two attempts to adjust state mean Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores for differential participation rates are examined. Both attempts are rejected, and five rules for performing adjustments are outlined to foster follow-up checks on untested assumptions. National Assessment of Educational Progress state data are determined to be more accurate.…

In response to the need to develop reliable methods of evaluating Texas students' achievement of essential competencies, this study was designed to develop multiple-choice test items in food and nutrition in all comprehensive homemaking education courses, the semester course in food and nutrition, and all occupational methods of teaching food and…

Key findings of a pilot study of the Alaska Instructional Diagnostic System (AIDS) are summarized. The AIDS pilot test served to verify the appropriateness of the skills survey as well as the validity and reliability of the items. The AIDS testing system includes three components: (1) upper level skills surveys (grades 3-8); (2) lower level skill…

Part I of this report attempts to describe the system that was developed for local educational agencies by the Delaware State Department of Public Instruction to support classroom and curricular improvement in mathematics through the administration of an objective-referenced test in mathematics to grade four students. This system includes the…

The statewide teaching performance assessment instruments being used in Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida were examined. Forty-one reliability and validity studies regarding the instruments in use in each state were collected from state departments and universities. Georgia uses the Georgia Teacher Performance Assessment Instrument. North…

Since the approval of the Basic Skills Improvement Policy in 1978, the Massachusetts Department of Education has been developing tests and alternative forms for the assessment of student achievement in five basic skills content areas: reading, writing, mathematics, listening, and speaking. Because of the lack of previous research on which to draw…

The 1972-73 Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) provided information on 22 measures of students and schools. While some of the data were gathered in routine Michigan Department of Education reports, student performance data were gathered using the Michigan Assessment of Basic Skills battery, Form VMT during January 1973. The battery…

A sample of slightly over 1500 students was drawn from even-numbered grades in public schools of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and was given the 1973 edition of the Stanford Achievement Test (in grades 2,4,6, & 8) and the Test of Academic Skills (grades 10 and 12) to assess student academic achievement in the basic skill areas of mathematics,…

As part of a needs assessment conducted for the Virginia public schools during the year 1969-70, the Virginia Affective Assessment Questionnaire (VAAQ) was developed. The VAAQ assesses affective traits, such as motivation and self concept, that are related to academic success--as measured by standardized achievement tests and performance in the…

The Florida Teacher Certification Examination was developed as a comprehensive written examination for use in initial teacher certification in the state. Applicants must demonstrate mastery of 23 generic minimum competencies in teaching adopted in Florida statutes and State Board of Education rules. Subtests in General Education cover writing,…