Public schools stress the need for students to become informed and engaged citizens, however social studies instruction is becoming marginalized in many elementary schools today, the very area where they learn citizenship and about the world around them. This study seeks to: understand the reason for the loss of instructional time for social…

The "D" testing program, the fourth in a year-long series of test administrations, is summarized. As part of the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study, reading and mathematics achievement was studied in second and fifth grade classes. The samples for the "D" testing were 97 second grade students out of l50 in the "A" testing, and 89 fifth grade…

The Maryland Accountability Program Annual Report has been developed as a reference document on test data for the public. It provides a survey both of test results and of the progress being made by students attending Maryland public schools in grades 3, 5, and 8. The 1980-81 report is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 defines educational…

The purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of a performance assessment program, the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP). Based on analyses of the longitudinal associations of Grade 5 MSPAP data in 1996 with Grade 3 MSPAP data in 1994, the following hypothesis was examined: the unattentuated correlation or…

This study compares the effect of the objectives-based test collections of the Instructional Objectives Exchange (10X) on reading comprehension and word-attack skills of fifth-grade students in a basal reader program. The 10X, a nonprofit educational organization, was established in the late 1960s to provide educators with instructional materials…

The Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) utilize the state mandated testing of students in grades 3, 5 and 8 with the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) as an accountability index. The district has set objectives to be met by teachers and students. The Department of Instructional Research, Testing, and Evaluation (IRTE) District Program…

Estimates of the costs of including hands-on measures of science skills in a large-scale assessment program were derived from a field trial involving more than 2,000 fifth and sixth graders. Results suggest that complexity makes hands-on assessments more than three times as expensive as open-ended writing assessments. (SLD)

The fifth-grade and eighth-grade science items on a state performance assessment were compared for differential item functioning (DIF) due to gender. The grade 5 sample consisted of 8,539 females and 8,029 males and the grade 8 sample consisted of 7,477 females and 7,891 males. A total of 30 fifth grade items and 26 eighth grade items were…

The Maryland Accountability Testing Program Annual Report is a reference document on basic skills test data for the public, providing a survey of test results and the progress made by state students in grades 3, 5, and 8. Basic skills areas for these grade levels are covered, along with average grade equivalent scores. The California Achievement…

Limitations of using linear, unilevel regression procedures in modeling student achievement are discussed. This study is a part of a broader study that is developing an empirically-based predictive model of variables associated with academic achievement from a multilevel perspective and examining the differences by which parameters are estimated…

The "A" testing program of the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study, Phase III-B, is summarized. A sample of 150 second grade and 134 fifth grade students completed the reading and mathematics achievement battery, as well as affective scales regarding reading, mathematics, and school. The administration procedures, test results, and psychometric…

The North Carolina Open-Ended Assessment for grades 5 and 8 emphasizes higher-level thinking skills. Test items commonly require the integration of knowledge and skills from more than one curricular area. Beginning in 1996-97, the North Carolina Open-Ended Assessment was administered to students in grades 5 and 8 for the second time. Because it is…

Since the fall of 1984, the Pennsylvania Department of Education has conducted a yearly statewide testing of the reading and mathematics competencies of students in grades 3, 5, and 8. Because Pennsylvania does not mandate statewide curricula, the Department has had to rely upon committees of state educators to determine which objectives to test.…

The "B" testing program of the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study, Phase III-B, is summarized. A sample of 146 second grade and 128 fifth grade students completed the reading and mathematics achievement battery, as well as affective scales pertaining to reading, mathematics, and school. The administration procedures, test results, and psychometric…

The "C" testing program, which followed the "A" and "B" tests of the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study, is summarized. A sample of 139 second grade and 123 fifth grade students completed the reading and mathematics achievement battery, as well as affective scales regarding reading, mathematics, and school. The administration procedures, test…