This study examined the effect of small class size intervention on student outcomes using reading achievement scores as measured by the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS), a standardized, norm-referenced test, while controlling for independent variables inclusive of students' gender, race, socioeconomic status (SES), and environment. This…

"Success for All" ("SFA"®) is a whole-school reform model (that is, a model that integrates curriculum, school culture, family, and community supports) for students in prekindergarten through grade 8. "SFA"® includes a literacy program, quarterly assessments of student learning, a social-emotional development program,…

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 Los Angeles Unified School District has been concerned over the excess testing of elementary school pupils, particularly those who are in special programs. When the Board of Education decided to have yearly testing of pupil progress using a locally developed criterion-referenced test, the intention was to replace a previously used…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the research literature on three-tier models of reading and behavior and to provide a descriptive analysis and meta-analytic review of these models. An in-depth review of 17 articles was conducted on the similarities and differences between and among three-tier models of reading (n = 5), models of behavior…

Based on teacher estimates, this discussion focuses on the importance of test content coverage in terms of instructional and curricular validity; students' opportunity to learn test content; and the relationship between test content covered in class and student performance on a standardized achievement test in reading. (JS)

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…

Test scores for fall and spring administrations for two consecutive years for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I students in the Tucson Unified School District are presented and compared. The students were given out-of-level tests: the 138 seventh-grade students and 106 eighth-grade students were given Level 2 of the…

A study compared the reading achievement of first grade students who attended half-day kindergarten to that of students who attended full-day kindergarten. Subjects, 67 students in urban Newark, New Jersey, who had attended half-day and 66 students who had attended full-day kindergarten, were given the first grade Comprehensive Tests of Basic…

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)

Final evaluation of a 3-year project to use microcomputers to improve the reading and language skills of Limited English Proficient (LEP) Native American students revealed that there was significant growth evidenced in over 75% of the reading subscale groupings as measured by the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (*CTBS). Subjects were 114…

Evaluation at the end of the first year of a 3-year project to use microcomputers to improve the reading and language skills of Limited English Proficient (LEP) Native American students revealed that the major objective was not reached, but there were achievements nonetheless. Lakota (Sioux) children constitute 10% of the Rapid City, South Dakota…

The evaluation of reading in the West Hartford Public Schools is part of a larger evaluation of English/Language Arts. Its purpose is to provide information for program improvement and growth. Using existing data, the reading evaluation focuses on four questions: (1) Does the reading achievement of West Hartford students improve from grade four…