High school graduation is a meaningful indicator of student achievement and a stronger predictor of long-term quality of life outcomes compared to student test scores. The existing body of research has been limited on whether charter attendance improves high school graduation and whether charter attendance helps narrow the graduation gap among…

SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timed) are advocated as the gold standard for goal setting. However, goals which are non-specific and exploratory, referred to as 'open goals', may be preferred in specific circumstances. In this pre-registered experiment, we compared SMART goals, compared to do-your-best (DYB), and…

This article explores the critical pedagogical issues that emerge when attempting to develop active citizenship among undergraduates as an integral part of the student experience. It presents part of the findings from a C-SAP-funded project (Gifford et al. 2006) that we undertook with a partner higher education institution. This article explores…

Based on material prepared for the California Assessment Program, an argument in favor of authentic assessment is presented, and authentic assessment is contrasted with traditional standardized tests. An assessment is authentic when student performance on intellectual tasks is directly examined. Comparatively, traditional assessment relies on…

The social climates of two markedly different high schools are examined in this study. Although both schools reside in the same district and have the same community standards, they are different in curriculum concepts, problem-solving strategies, and size. The two schools, one a typical high school and one a smaller public alternative high school,…

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…

Arkansas law requires that each student aged 7 through 16 years in a home school program be tested annually using a nationally recognized standardized test chosen by the students' parents from a list of tests approved by the state. Achievement for home schooled and public schooled students in Arkansas was compared for grades 4, 7, and 10 using 6…