Summative assessments measure students' mastery of grade-level academic standards and skills in specific content areas after learning. State summative assessment systems provide students and families, school and district leaders, and state policymakers with valuable data to help understand student progress and school quality. This Policy Guide…

The purpose of this comparative study was to determine the effectiveness of 2 ACT intervention preparation programs. One was a face-to-face ACT intervention preparation program and the 2nd was a computer-based ACT intervention preparation program. Both of these intervention programs were used with at-risk high school juniors and seniors in a large…

Computer-based testing is an expanding use of technology offering advantages to teachers and students. We studied Calculus II classes for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors using different testing modes. Three sections with 324 students employed: paper-and-pencil testing, computer-based testing, and both. Computer tests gave…

We conducted conceptual replications for an online-administered general outcome measure known as critical content monitoring in science. Totally, 547 Grades 4 to 6 students from a rural Louisiana school district participated. Research questions addressed criterion validity, diagnostic accuracy, growth, and social validity concerns. Criterion…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for K-12 English language arts/literacy and mathematics, released in 2010, have been adopted by 49 states and territories; the District of Columbia; and the U.S. Department of Defense schools, which serve the children of U.S. service members around the world. The widespread adoption of the CCSS is a major…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate technical adequacy features of an online adaptation of vocabulary matching known as critical content monitoring. Validity and reliability studies were conducted with a sample of 106 students from one school in fifth-grade science content. Participants were administered 20 parallel forms of the general…

Obstacles to the classroom implementation of the fourth grade Math component of Louisiana's web-based testing tutorial were addressed in this informal pilot. Technology integration improved standardized test preparation for students with special needs. Supplemental test preparation sessions give the benefits of (a) increased familiarity with…

This study examined the feasibility of administering GED Tests using a computer based testing system with embedded accessibility tools and the impact on test scores and test-taker experience when GED Tests are transitioned from paper to computer. Nineteen test centers across five states successfully installed the computer based testing program,…

An increasing number of K-12 school teachers have been using handheld, or palmtop, computers in the classroom as an integral means of facilitating education due to the flexibility, mobility, interactive learning capability, and comparatively inexpensive cost. This study involved two experiments in handheld computers: (a) a comparison of the…

This paper reports results of a survey that studied the outcomes of a mentorship program. Students enrolled in a core course for the MA and certificate in gerontology programs were required to select either a long-term care service, a program in aging, or an agency providing services for senior adults, where they could spend a day interacting with…