Since July 1970, Arizona has required that a standardized reading achievement test be administered annually to all third-grade pupils. Prior to test administration, data have been gathered on student traits, teacher background and teaching techniques, and characteristics of the school and the school district. Regression analyses were used to…

In the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), North Carolina, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) is administered to all third grade students each year. The ITBS, which is one of the assessments used as a screening tool for the Academically Gifted Program, was given to approximately 7,700 third graders in 2000. The ITBS can be given as a…

Revised procedures of the Portland Achievement Levels Tests (PALT) for grade 3 and teacher and test coordinator perceptions of the revised testing program are summarized. The revised program included changes in the PALT and locator test, the answer sheet, and practice test, and a new teacher's manual and wall charts. An evaluation collected…

This guide is designed to give the student helpful information about Arizona's Instrument To Measure the Standards (AIMS) for grade 3. The guide provides examples of the type of questions students see on AIMS and explains how items are scored. It does not teach what the student needs to know to do well on AIMS, but it will help the student know…

Beginning in Spring 1998, Virginia students participated in the Standards of Learning (SOL) Assessments designed to test student knowledge of the content and skills specified in the state's standards. This document contains questions that approximately 83,000 students in grade 3 were required to answer as part of the SOL assessments. These…

One component of the Maryland School Performance Program (MSPAP) is the state's performance-based assessments, criterion-referenced tests that require students to apply what they know and can do to solve problems and display other higher-order thinking skills. This document helps parents, teachers, students, and other citizens understand the tasks…

This handbook was designed for use in conjunction with an ongoing program in the New York (New York) Public Schools to improve students' test-taking skills. Directed towards third grade teachers and their supervisors, this guide has been developed for implementation as an integral part of the school's ongoing instruction in communication arts and…

The York Region Board of Education in Ontario, Canada, screens students for giftedness in grade 3. This report analyzes data produced in the 1986-87 screening procedure, involving approximately 3,400 students. The report begins with a review of procedural changes that were designed to make the screening more effective and efficient than earlier…

The New Hampshire State Department of Education in conjunction with the state board and the Legislature, has implemented a new statewide educational improvement and assessment program. The purpose of the program is "to establish what New Hampshire students should know and be able to do and to develop and implement effective methods for…

This report, second in a series, contains school and district level data on student performance at the end of the primary grades. It provides a source of information to evaluate current school improvement efforts and facilitate decisions about curriculum, instruction, professional development, resource allocation, and staffing. The statewide…

One component of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) is the state's performance-based assessments, criterion-referenced tests that require students to apply what they know and can do to solve problems and display other higher-order thinking skills. This document helps parents, teachers, students, and other citizens…

Mathematics learning objectives and specifications for third graders, which are congruent with the Texas "State Board of Education Rules for Curriculum," are presented. They are designed for use by teachers and test development specialists involved with the preparation of the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) tests.…

This document contains the codebooks and data record layouts for the 1985-86 Public-Use Data Tapes, Version 1.0. The Public-Use data tapes are created by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to provide outside researchers access to NAEP data. This book provides coded data collected on and from third graders and 9-year-olds via…

After a brief review of recent research concerning school effectiveness, this paper proposes an approach to operationalizing school effectiveness that is based on the achievement of students in a school over a period of time. This three-level model does not follow a single cohort of students as they progress through school. Rather, it uses the…

Annually in May and June, grade 3, 6, and 9 students in Alberta (Canada) take provincial achievement tests. This guide, in both English and French versions, explains the achievement tests. The tests are designed to indicate how well students meet the province's standards, to support teachers in planning instruction, and to inform the public about…