This paper describes "the development and technical adequacy of the Classroom Observations of Student Teacher Interactions (COSTI) instrument," a tool for measuring the frequency and rate of explicit instructional interactions, such as those used in Direct Instruction curricula, for teaching children basic reading and math skills.…

This study is on correlation between entry qualification and performance in A'level chemistry at the school of Basic and remedial studies, Yobe State University, Damaturu. The grade in chemistry at the West African Examination Council (WAEC) or National Examination Council (NECO) is the predictor while the criterion is the grade earned in the…

We investigate the predictive validity of teacher credential test scores for student performance in secondary STEM classrooms in Washington state. After replicating earlier findings that teacher basic skills licensure test scores are a modest and statistically significant predictor of student math test score gains in elementary grades, we focus on…

Many individuals who attempt to enter teacher education programs are precluded from doing so because of an inability to pass basic skills tests. The authors examine whether these tests are simply a gate that needs to be passed through or whether they provide useful early information about how individuals are likely to perform on subsequent…

The purpose of this study was to measure the comprehension of basic mathematical skills of students enrolled in statistics classes at a large regional university, and to determine if the scores earned on a basic math skills test are useful in forecasting student performance in these statistics classes, and to determine if students' basic math…

The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Revised (PPVT-R) and the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) (reading, mathematics, and language subtests) were administered to 61 elementary school students in semi-rural Louisiana. Moderate positive correlations were found between PPVT-R scores and all CTBS subtests except mathematics computation. (GDC)

This study compared the reliability and validity of two different measures of reading ability, the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) Reading test and the ITBS Vocabulary test. The data consisted of scores of 377 grade 5 and grade 6 students on these tests, along with their assigned reading levels in the…

A major concern for those in higher education is whether the instruments they use for screening students are valid and predictive. Of particular interest is whether a grammar test, used in many institutions to screen students for developmental English, and a reading comprehension test, used to screen students for developmental reading, truly…

The relationship was investigated between test scores obtained from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) and the Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED), and the grade point average (GPA) at the high school and college level. The data used were unique in providing a longitudinal comparison of college students' performance with the results of…

This study was conducted to establish Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) cutoff scores for the assignment of the appropriate level of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests to individual Navy recruits. The Word Knowledge (WK) and Paragraph Comprehension (PC) scores were combined to provide a composite score useful as a predictor of an…

A study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE) in predicting success or lack of success in selected postsecondary health occupations programs. The predictor variables used in the project were the TABE reading and mathematics grade equivalent scores and the number of times each section of the TABE…

A comparative evaluation was made of the ability of four Academic Tests of the American College Test (ACT) Assessment Program and Descriptive Tests of Language Skills (DTLS) to predict course grades and freshman grade-point average for students enrolled in a basic skills program at a large university. (Author/GK)

This paper argues that the problems of minority and disadvantaged students at traditional colleges and universities are different from those students attending junior or community colleges. The goals and guidelines set up by the E.O.F. (Educational Opportunity Fund) Community Advisory Board at Rutgers University in Newark are delineated and…

This paper explores some of the issues involved in developing an index of functional literacy that can serve diagnostic purposes. In 1985, Secretary of Education William J. Bennett outlined principles for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), including a principle calling for NAEP to "develop an index of functional literacy…

Determining the overall pass rates on the College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) for a given cohort of students involves an analysis of both the first-time examinee performance and subsequent pass rates of students who failed the test and retook it at a later date. Two increases in the scores required to pass the CLAST in 1986 and 1989 have…