Above-level testing is the practice of administering aptitude or academic achievement tests that are designed for typical students in higher grades or older age-groups to gifted or high-achieving students. Although widely accepted in gifted education, above-level testing has not been subject to careful psychometric scrutiny. In this study, I…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Iowa for 2010. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Iowa had data for racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls at the proficient and advanced levels. Trends at the proficient and advanced levels were…

Through the nineteen-forties, fifties, and up to the mid-sixties, achievement test scores steadily increased. Since then, many test scores drop. The reported test score declines are more dramatic in recent years and most evident for higher grades. They are specially pronounced in verbal tests, but hold for nearly all tested areas. Specially:…