Independent schools are, for the most part, exempt from mandatory participation in standardized tests designed for state and federal comparisons, nor are they required to take part in comparative international assessments. The anxiety in the broader culture, however, is driving a growing interest among independent school parents (and prospective…

Assessing a high school's effectiveness is not straightforward. Comparing a school's standardized test scores to those of other schools is one approach to measuring effectiveness, but a major objection to this method is that students' test scores tend to be related to students' "socioeconomic" status--family household income, for…

At the end of secondary education in The Netherlands, students have to pass a final examination, consisting of an internal school-based assessment and an external national assessment. According to the Dutch inspectorate, to ensure the quality of final examinations, the discrepancy between both assessments must be less than 0.5 points (on a scale…

Although there is an ongoing debate about which achievement feedback is most useful, the majority of researchers agree that social comparisons and a focus on competition are inappropriate for students with learning disabilities and otherwise academically-challenged students. They are highly at-risk to be unfavorably influenced by inappropriate…

The purpose of the study was to examine four questions concerning English Language Learners (ELLs). First, does English Language Learner status impact math scores? Second, does immigrant status favorably contribute to math achievement? Third, what math achievement is possible in other countries where there is multilingualism or high immigrant…

Analyzing data from a large urban district in Texas, this study examines how high-stakes test exemptions alter officially reported scores and asks whether test exemption has implications for the academic achievement of special education students. Test exemption inflated overall passing rates but especially affected the passing rates of African…

First year students' academic performance in three Life Science courses (Botany, Zoology and Bioscience) was compared. Pass rates, as well as the means and distributions of final marks were analysed. Of the three components (coursework, practical and theory examinations) contributing to the final mark of each course, students performed best in the…

In an attempt to gauge the effectiveness of their information literacy program, librarians at Stephen F. Austin State University began comparing average course grades in course sections that receive IL instruction to grades in sections that do not. The results varied, revealing no clear benefit to information literacy instruction. We discuss…

The purpose of the analyses reported in this paper was to compare performance on the GED (General Educational Development) Tests, U.S. edition, across three groups of examinees: (a) graduating high school seniors in the GED Tests U.S. 2001 norm group, (b) GED Tests candidates who took one or more tests in the U.S. in 2002-2004, and (c) GED Tests…

The Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) study describes either 3- or 4-year trends in average campus-level passing rates on TAAS at all grade levels. It discusses student, teacher, campus, and district characteristics as they may relate to student success on TAAS by looking at data for students in grades 4, 8, and 10 for four consecutive…

The purpose of this study was to compare undergraduate nursing students' achievement on examinations for three groups in a mandatory microbiology course. The study represents one aspect of a larger research project designed to gain insight into factors that may influence online learning for distance education nursing students at a Canadian…

The effects of three methods of evaluation (norm-referenced, regulated criterion-referenced, and negotiated criterion-referenced) on academic self-concept (ASC), test anxiety, and aspiration of success were studied for 73 college students (71 females and 2 males) from a large midwestern research university. Students were given a limited amount of…

The purpose of this 1971 study was to see if there was sufficient evidence at South High School of the Omaha Public School District to support any of the following hypotheses: (1) controlling for intelligence quotient (IQ) and socioeconomic status (SES), Spanish American children have a significantly lower self-concept than Anglo children; (2)…

This investigation compared the acceptability of three methods for assessing reading (i.e., norm-referenced assessment, curriculum-based assessment, brief experimental analysis), and explored how a new assessment methodology can gain acceptance as a useful and appropriate approach. Given that brief experimental analysis is a relatively new…

The Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools administers the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) districtwide to document the learning which has occurred and to guide classroom teachers and administrators as they establish curricula which is responsive to student needs. This report presents the results from the tests administered in April, 1986 to…