This quantitative study aimed to determine the growth of students who did and did not attend a state-funded pre-kindergarten program based on Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) reading achievement. The study occurred in a rural school district in the southeastern United States. The sample population consisted of one treatment group (n = 97) and…

This report by the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an independent nonprofit organization, examines trends in the achievement of high school students on the state reading/English language arts (ELA) and mathematics tests used for accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In most states, these tests are first administered in grade…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the assessment procedures initiated and used by most Canadian provinces during the past decade to describe public school reading achievement, to identify commonalities and differences among those procedures, and to comment on the significance of the identified trends. The stated purposes of evaluation…

This document contains materials directly related to the actual reading test of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), including the reading rubric, released passages, selected-response questions with answer keys, performance tasks, and scored samples of students' responses to the tasks. All of these items may be duplicated to…

This document contains the results of a standard setting conducted between August 2 and August 12, 1999, on the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) Mathematics, Reading, and Writing subtests at grades 3, 5, 8, and 10. At the standard setting, judges were asked to recommend only the cut point between "Below the Standard" and…

The 1993-94 school year was a transition year for the Nevada Proficiency Examination program in that it marked the year in which proficiency examinations were first mandated for grades 4, 8, and 11. Because the change from assessment at grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 would leave one class untested between grades 6 and 11, a requirement was passed for…

Beginning in 1999, all of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) had to be aligned with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards. This handbook describes the PSSA reading assessment. It contains samples and instructions for developing assessment items for grades 5, 8, and 11. Although designed for teachers, the Handbook is meant to be a…

This document presents more useful statewide testing as a rationale for a revision to the California Assessment Program (CAP). A brief description of the revision procedures, and an illustrative outline of the skills and concepts covered by CAP are included. Approximately 270 districts and counties participated in the test development process to…

The Maryland Functional Reading Test, Level II (MFRT-II) assesses Maryland students' mastery of functional reading skills that are described in the Declared Competencies Index published by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) in 1980. The test is also used to certify students for graduation from high school and to identify those who…

The Maryland Functional Reading Test, Level II (MFRT-II) assesses Maryland students' mastery of functional reading skills that are described in the Declared Competencies Index published by the Maryland State Department of Education in 1980. The test is used to certify students for high school graduation and to identify those in need of assistance…

Compliance with South Carolina's Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP), involving test administration and instructional monitoring, was on schedule for the 1983-84 school year. Results of readiness tests given to over 50,000 first graders showed 72.6% "ready" to begin formal instruction. Teachers were given materials for areas in which…

This paper describes New Jersey's High School Proficiency Test (HPST) in reading, one of three tests given to all 11th graders as a state graduation requirement. Each reading passage represents one of four test types (narrative, informational, persuasive/argumentative, and workplace). Each passage is followed by multiple-choice items and at least…

For several decades, the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) held the preeminent role in measuring student and school performance in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Illinois. In the context of the No Child Left Behind act and new calls for accountability, the CPS has decided to include results from the Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT) in…

In this answer booklet, students record their answers to the practice test items for the Ohio Proficiency Tests for grade 6. The practice tests represent the subject tests for writing, reading, mathematics, citizenship, and science. The writing tests allow space for essays based on writing prompts. The items from the other tests are in…

This booklet contains the practice tests for the fourth-grade Ohio Proficiency Tests. The work students do on these tests helps the teacher know how well the student understands the subjects of reading, writing, mathematics, citizenship, and science. The writing test consists of two writing tasks. The other tests are made up of multiple choice,…