The purpose of this study was to examine the association in student performance on the reading and mathematics portions of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE) by analyzing the data of students who participated in Response to Intervention (RtI) or did not participate in RtI during their ninth grade school years in 2009-2010 and…

Open Educational Resources (OER) can offer educators the necessary flexibility for tailoring educational resources to better fit their educational goals. Although the number of OER repositories is growing fast, few studies have been conducted to empirically test the effectiveness of OER integration in the classroom. Furthermore, very little is…

Phipps, Osborne, Dyer, and Ball, (2008) posited that, "Agricultural education in secondary schools has played an important role in enhancing student achievement in the core subject areas…" (p. 4), while Enderlin and Osborne (1992) reported that agricultural students received higher test scores in biology than students in other science…

Literacy is a nationwide concern. Although the national spotlight and numerous studies have focused on early literacy, the needs of adolescent readers have just come to the forefront. The Alabama State Department of Education responded to this nationwide concern for K-12 literacy by planning and implementing the Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI).…

This paper provides information about Alabama High School Graduation Exam, 3rd Edition, a comprehensive standards-based exam. The purpose of the exam is to: (1) Provide schools with student academic diagnostic information; (2) Determine prospective high school graduates' mastery of the state curriculum; (3) Increase alignment of local curriculum…

Piedmont High School is a small high school in rural Alabama, which serves a primarily white population and has a high dropout rate. PLATO computerized instruction has been used by almost 200 skill-deficient students, and 4 teachers have used it. After using PLATO, Piedmonts struggling students are much more likely to pass the Alabama High School…

The purpose of this study was to determine which equating models are appropriate for the Alabama High School Graduation Examination (AHSGE) by equating two previously administered fall forms for each subject area of the AHSGE and determining whether differences exist in the test score distributions or passing scores resulting from the equating…

This paper compares descriptive information based on analyses of the pilot and live administrations of the Alabama High School Graduation Examination (AHSGE). The AHSGE, a product of decisions made in 1977 and 1984 by the Alabama State Board of Education, is composed of subject tests in reading, mathematics, and language. The pass score for each…

This document is designed to assist classroom teachers in preparing students to successfully complete the Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE). It consists of activities that are correlated with the Alabama Course of Study: Mathematics, Bulletin 1997, No. 4, and Standards and Objectives (Reading Comprehension, Language, Mathematics, and…

This document introduces the Alabama Graduation Examination Program (AGEP) which provides learning opportunities for high school students to meet the minimum competency requirements to earn a high school diploma in the state of Alabama. The Alabama High School Graduation Examination (AHSGE) content includes the subject areas of reading…

This document is designed to assist classroom teachers in preparing students to complete successfully the "Alabama High School Graduation Exam" (AHSGE). The document describes the content for the language and reading comprehension portion of the AHSGE. The teaching strategies, activities, and resources contained in the document were…

To determine to what extent competencies to be measured by the Alabama High School Graduation Examination were being taught in the Alabama public schools, a survey was conducted of teachers of grades 7, 8, 9, and 10. Competencies that were not being taught are identified and possible explanations are outlined. (Author/EGS)

These five papers describe the methods, results, and implications of a multimethod approach to the establishment of standards for the three subject areas of the Alabama High School Graduation Examination (AHSGE). James E. McLean introduces the problems and methods involved by identifying three general approaches to scoring procedures found in the…

Standards, passing scores, or cut scores have been seen as an element of criterion-referenced tests since their introduction. This paper discusses at least two issues surrounding the establishment of cut scores which appear to need clarification: (1) the theoretical definition of a cut score; and (2) decisions which must be made in selecting a…

Field tests of test items are useful in developing cutting scores for important tests, such as teacher certification examinations and high school graduation tests, because they indicate test item quality and estimate future examinee performance. However, field test data may provide a faulty indication of examinee performance on the real test.…