This paper profiles Maryland's test score trends through 2008-09. Between 2005 and 2009, the percentages of students reaching the proficient level on the state test and the basic level on NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) increased at grades 4 and 8 in both reading and math. Average annual gains were larger on the state test than…

The research base on the relationships among superintendents, school board members and student achievement results is strikingly small. Most research on student achievement has focused at the student-, teacher- and school-levels. This study focused at the district level, and specifically at the effects of school boards and superintendents. The…

This study examines potential consequences of the discrepancies between national and state performance standards for school funding in Kentucky and Maine. Applying the successful schools observation method and cost function analysis method to integrated data-sets that match schools' eight-grade mathematics test performance measures to district…

A standardized achievement testing program was begun in Alum Rock, California in the fall of 1972 as part of an evaluation of an Educational Voucher Demonstration. During each of the first three years of the demonstration both the form of test administration and the particular level of the standardized achievement test that a student is assigned…

Presents some specific questions that educators ought to raise about standardized tests and some alternatives to standardized tests. (Author/IRT)

Due to the paucity of research on struggling adult readers, researchers rely on child-based reading constructs and measures when investigating the reading skills of adults struggling with reading. The purpose of the two studies in this investigation was to evaluate the appropriateness of using child-based reading constructs and assessments with…

A child's chance for success in school and in life can be greatly enhanced by their participation in a high-quality preschool program. This message was made loud and clear by participants in a policy forum, "Preschool Education: New Jersey and the Nation," sponsored by Educational Testing Service (ETS), the New Jersey Department of…

The Presidential Address at the 1986 National Council on Measurement in Education Annual Meeting argues that measurement specialists have tended to set unrealistic aspirations for the role tests play. The conjunctive decision making model is discussed and the use of data in the conjunctive and compensatory decision making models is examined. (JAZ)

Orlando and Thissen (2000, 2003) proposed an item-fit index, S-X[superscript 2], for dichotomous item response theory (IRT) models, which has performed better than traditional item-fit statistics such as Yen's (1981) Q[subscript 1] and McKinley and Mill's (1985) G[superscript 2]. This study extends the utility of S-X[superscript 2] to polytomous…

This article reports on a new study which concludes that teachers entering the profession today have higher academic qualifications than their counterparts a decade ago. The report, released this week by the Educational Testing Service, says the finding bodes well for greater student learning because of the evidence that teachers' academic ability…

Presents a method of testing a class that is designed to reveal the level of thinking of the individual student in the context of the science instruction that he is receiving. (JR)

Guidelines are presented for the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania City-Wide Testing Program. They involve the preparation of pupils for the Administration of the tests, preparation of teachers for administering the tests, some acceptable and unacceptable practices, use and dissemination of test results, and security concerns related to the testing…