This Digest introduces the advantages and disadvantages of three commonly used methods of reporting test score changes: (1) change in percentile rank; (2) scale or raw score change; and (3) percent change. The change in percentile rank method focuses on the increase or decrease of the mean percentile ranking for a group of students. This method…

An earlier Digest described the shortcomings of three methods commonly used to summarize changes in test scores. This Digest describes two less commonly used approaches for examining changes in test scores, those of Standardized Growth Estimates and Effect Sizes. Aspects of these two approaches are combined and applied to the Iowa Test of Basic…

The impact of school-based management (SBM) on student performance is examined in this digest. The first part describes school-based management and its potential for improving student performance. A review of research concludes that, overall, school-based management has not contributed to consistent or stable improvements in student performance.…

After first glancing at previous research suggesting that schools (and principals) had little effect on students, this research review focuses on six research studies that suggest the opposite: schools (and their principals) can make an important difference in student achievement. The review highlights Michael Rutter's three-year study of British…

This digest briefly reviews the impacts of assimilationist education for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) and describes recent examples of successful AI/AN schools that incorporate students' native language and traditional culture into the curriculum. Beginning in the 1870s, federal policy emphasized assimilation as the goal of AI/AN…

Success for All (SFA), a schoolwide research-based reform model developed by Robert Slavin and his associates at Johns Hopkins University, is based on the premise that all students can and must succeed in the early grades. The program targets students in the lower grades, providing them with intensive instruction in language arts. This effort is…

Presenting a review of research on parent involvement, this document is intended to serve as a basis for developing policies, programs, and practices in parent involvement programs. Specifically, the review concerns (1) the role of parents, family, and home in determining children's intelligence, competence, and achievement; (2) the effects of…

This digest provides a review of the research literature on assessment of the effectiveness of higher education in producing graduates with the knowledge and skills necessary for well-educated citizens today. Major findings are grouped as answers or partial answers to the following nine questions: (1) "what are the critical competencies and…

The purpose of this paper is to identify those programs and processes currently using the components, factors, and behaviors that have been described in the literature as characteristic of more effective schools, and to synthesize findings from these programs and processes carrying out effective schooling practices. Following an introduction,…

This monograph reviews empirical studies on various aspects of higher education relating to the effectiveness of instruction in regard to four areas: curriculum, instruction, campus psychological climate, and academic advising. After an introduction, the first section describes the development of critical skills, how these skills develop, and the…