Research Findings: The aim of this study was to provide an initial investigation into the psychometric properties of the Problems in Classroom Engagement Scale (PCES). The PCES was designed and tested for district-wide use as part of the report card system for a large urban school district. The PCES was administered to all 1st-, 2nd-, and…

There is no comprehensive database of U.S. district-level test scores that is comparable across states. We describe and evaluate a method for constructing such a database. First, we estimate linear, reliability-adjusted linking transformations from state test score scales to the scale of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). We…

The Test of Everyday Reading Comprehension (TERC) has recently been presented as an addition to the armoury of tests available for assessing the skills of low-progress readers. While comparison data for students of different ages are presented together with evidence for high test reliability, there is, as yet, no published evidence for its…

Ogbu and Simons' thesis, based on the Cultural-Ecological Theory of School Performance that Black immigrant students academically outperform their non-immigrant counterparts and that achievement differences are attributed to stronger educational commitment in Black immigrant families, was examined. Two hypotheses, based on data from the Progress…

This study examined contextual effects in Norwegian 10th-grade students' reports on cognitive and metacognitive strategies when using the Cross-Curricular Competencies (CCC) instrument. The CCC was first administered as the final task in a long (three-hour) testing session in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Program for…

A study was conducted in response to a request from the Illinois State Board of Education to examine closely which reading programs work best for Illinois students and schools. In some Illinois schools, students exhibit consistently high levels of reading achievement--the teaching, learning, and other practices of these schools may point the way…

This review of a previous article (TM 503 836), concludes that: (1) the evaluation methodology was straightforward; (2) simpler data analysis would have yielded the same conclusions; and (3) exclusion of many experimental schools from data analysis and use of post hoc matching and covariance produced misleading results. (CP)

An independent statewide study of 4,735 elementary schools, conducted after three years of the Early Childhood Education Program (ECE) in California, indicates that ECE schools have lower reading scores in grades 2 and 3 when compared to non-ECE schools. Five potential causes for this discrepancy are discussed. (CP)

Schools in California's Early Childhood Education Program (ECE) have lower reading achievement than non-ECE schools; furthermore, schools which are both ECE and Title I score below all others. Three alternative policies are discussed: (1) continued expansion; (2) gradual termination; and (3) stable funding, explaining score discrepancies, and…

This report presents the results of an external evaluation of a model bilingual program for nursery school through third grade students in the municipal schools of Clovis and Portales, New Mexico. The project is divided into three programs--nursery school, kindergarten, and grades 1-3--designed to reach children with limited English-speaking…