This article summarizes results from 12 empirical evaluations of observational methods in education contexts. We look at the performance of three common covariate-types in observational studies where the outcome is a standardized reading or math test. They are: pretest measures, local geographic matching, and rich covariate sets with a strong…

Automated scoring models for the "e-rater"® scoring engine were built and evaluated for the "GRE"® argument and issue-writing tasks. Prompt-specific, generic, and generic with prompt-specific intercept scoring models were built and evaluation statistics such as weighted kappas, Pearson correlations, standardized difference in…

Problem solving plays an important role in mathematics and should have a prominent role in the mathematics education. The term "problem solving" refers to mathematics tasks that have the potential to provide intellectual challenges for enhancing students' mathematical understanding and development. In addition, the contextual problem…

Reports the procedure followed by members of the Testing and Evaluation Section, Schools Council Modern Languages Project, York, in producing test batteries to accompany the Nuffield/Schools Council language courses, the French course "En Avant" in particular. (RM)

The results indicate the effectiveness of both individual desensitization and group desensitization in the treatment of high test anxiety. More research is needed in comparing the effectiveness of group desensitization and individual desensitization with intratreatment variables. (Author)

A sizable representative subsample of the standardization group for the Metropolitan Achievement Tests participated in both the Fall and Spring standardization programs. Fall and Spring test records were matched for all such pupils and Fall-Spring "growth expectancies" were derived. Additionally, the sample was split into three subgroups…

THE SHORT- AND LONG-RANGE EFFECTS OF A LANGUAGE STIMULATION PROGRAM ON THE LINGUISTIC ABILITY AND INTELLIGENCE OF EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED FIRST-GRADE NEGRO CHILDREN WERE STUDIED. SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMLY PLACED IN EXPERIMENTS (E) AND CONTROL (C) GROUPS OF 32 PUPILS MATCHED ON STANDARDIZED PRETEST BATTERIES WHICH DETERMINED THEIR LANGUAGE AND…

Lack of emphasis on oral aspects of language in the Irish Leaving Certificate foreign language examinations has long been considered by teachers to be the chief reason for their inability to implement the aims of modern language teaching in Ireland. These aims are stated in the Department of Education's "Rules and Programme for Secondary…

A study was conducted to determine if the observed changes in Head Start children were related to the practice effects inherent in a test-retest situation. The "control" group consisted of 64 children who had been eligible for a Head Start program. They roughly matched a group of Head Start (HS) children in IQ scores, age, and…

This report describes the implementation of the Language Education Acceleration Program (LEAP) of Medford, Massachusetts. The program is evaluated. The administration of the program is discussed. Pre and post test results are given and analyzed for the Metropolitan Achievement Test, Stanford Early School Achievement Test, phonics, structural…

To improve Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) participant assessment systems in Virginia, a project identified assessment systems and techniques/tools used by prime sponsors and developed an assessment model. It also identified key personnel of educational institutions in the prime sponsor area. A mail survey was followed by on-site…

An integral part of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act programs has been the evaluation of these programs in terms of attainment of increments of gain in reading and mathematics. One of the most widely used methods of analyzing pre and post test norm referenced data has been the six-step historical regression procedure. This…

The problem of measuring growth across the target grade and, typically, the two adjacent grades, concerns most developers of standardized, norm-referenced achievement tests, particularly at the item selection stage. Opinion is divided on whether to retain or drop items that do not get easier from grade to grade. The controversy has focused on…

It is unsafe to estimate achievement test norms for fall testing by linear interpolation between norms for the previous spring testing and norms for the following spring. Second grade students were tested in reading and arithmetic in the fall and in the spring to provide pre-test and post-test data for evaluation of academic growth. Three…

The ALL WIN-U.S.A. Project, administered by the Office of the Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools (OLACSS), was to provide basic-skills instruction in reading and mathematics that would result in significant improvement in the respective achievement domains, in learner attitudes, and cost effectiveness relative to the previous curriculum…