This study examined the effect of kindergarten entry age on the scores of the eighth grade Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) math and reading scores, while controlling for the demographic variables of gender and socioeconomic status. The subjects included 1,197 students who participated in the randomized, long-term STAR (Student-Teacher…

This 5-year longitudinal randomized study focused on the effects of a dropout prevention program implemented at two urban high schools. The program incorporated the characteristics of personalization found in previous research to have some positive effects, and typical of the type of programs implemented in many high schools nationwide. The…

The Daviess County, Kentucky, PREPS research project focused on evaluating the county's 1979 summer school program. This program invited children to attend if they were functioning at least one year below their grade placement level. Learning activities were structured around specific behavioral objectives; the emphasis was on reading and…

Experiments that assign intact groups to treatment conditions are increasingly common in social research. In educational research, the groups assigned are often schools. The design of group-randomized experiments requires knowledge of the intraclass correlation structure to compute statistical power and sample sizes required to achieve adequate…

School effectiveness indices based on regressing achievement test scores onto earlier scores and a socioeconomic status measure were obtained for South Carolina students in grades one to four. Results were unstable across grades, and grade-to-grade correlations were more significant for mathematics achievement than for reading. (Author/GDC)

Person fit in the Rasch one parameter model is investigated. The first set of data deals with grade 3 students responding to the mathematics computation and reading vocabulary subscales of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills Forms (CTBS/S). The second set of data deals with grade 3 students responding to the Basic Skills Assessment Program…

The effects of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on basic skills achievement and attitudes toward instruction were compared for two groups of third- through sixth-grade Spanish-speaking migrant children. Results indicated that students who used CAI had greater achievement gains, but students in the non-CAI program had more favorable attitudes…

The McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) appears to be an effective predictor of school achievement for 31 English-speaking second-grade Mexican-American children. High Pearson product-moment correlations were obtained between MSCA and the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills. (Author/PN)

For the seventh consecutive year, the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, Form U (CTBS/U) was used to measure achievement in South Carolina public schools in the following areas: (1) reading; (2) spelling; (3) language; (4) mathematics; (5) reference skills; (6) science; and (7) social studies. Results for grades 4, 5, 7, 9, and 11 are summarized…

The 39-day Summer Academic Skills Achievement Program in Franklin County, Ohio, was designed to increase the basic reading and mathematics skills of persons of at least high school age. It enabled clients to earn a full credit and up to $200 ($3.35 an hour) for successfully completing the program. Among the major findings of an evaluation of the…

The primary purpose of the South Carolina Statewide Testing Program is to assess the achievement of fourth, seventh, and tenth grade public school students. Test results provide educators with information which facilitates the decision-making process. For the second time, Form U of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills was the instrument used to…

The Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) results of 81 West Virginia home-schooled children in grades 3, 6, 9, and 11 were analyzed. Means of each sub-section of these CTBS scores were analyzed for significant differences from the West Virginia public school means for the respective grades and subsections. Families of the children tested…

School effectiveness indices (SEIs) based on residuals from regressing test performance in reading and mathematics onto prior-year test performance and a socioeconomic status measure (percentage eligible for a subsidized lunch program) were obtained for two consecutive years for 431 South Carolina elementary schools. The analysis involved school…

The Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) battery are administered in New Mexico school districts as part of a state mandated assessment program. The tests are administered to students in grades three, five, and eight to measure achievement in the basic skills areas of reading, language, and mathematics. This report contains various types of…

Prescription Learning is a multi-media diagnostic prescriptive program providing individualized instruction using six instructional strategies. Nine elementary schools and four middle schools in the Portland Public School District used Prescriptive Learning to provide supplemental reading and math instruction to low-performing students. Selected…