In the fall of 1985, 10 academy programs were established by the State of California as replications of the Peninsula Academies already operating in a local school district for four years. An academy is a modified high school program with the following specific elements, among others: (1) students with academic potential who are at risk of…

The history and organization of a community college program in French, Spanish, and German language instruction for gifted elementary school children are described. The collaborative effort of the college and school districts, funded by the Federal Government and the Gifted Students Institute, provided 21 elementary teachers with methods training…

As part of Kapiolani Community College's (KCC's) long-range planning process, major revisions to the academic plan are made every 6 years, following the college's accreditation self-study. The plan for 1985-90 provides a history and description of the college; explains KCC's planning process, mission, and goals; discusses the factors and…

An assessment of the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) City-Wide Testing Program is presented to determine the effects of using customized achievement tests to achieve multiple purposes. The tests are derived from, or related to, the tests in a nationally standardized test battery, but include items written specifically to measure the local curriculum.…

The Act To Encourage the Expansion of Remedial Education Programs During Summer (P.A. 85-576), passed by the Connecticut General Assembly, provided local and regional boards of education with the opportunity to offer students in grades K through 8 remedial summer school services. Summer Incentive monies were granted to 25 programs from Fiscal Year…

Twenty-three papers on the use of higher order thinking approaches to improve basic skills education are presented. The key note article is (1) "A Case for Higher Order Thinking" (G. Garcia, Jr.). Under the heading "English Language Arts" are: (2) "Developing an Elementary Writing Program" (K. Contreras); (3)…

An ongoing study was initiated to provide a reliable means of defining and measuring factors affecting students' performance as they move from high school to college, including the reasons why some are more able than others to excel and/or persist. The study provides public high schools, colleges, universities and the Missouri Coordinating Board…

In 1985-86, after five years of implementation, the New York City (New York) Public Schools transferred responsibility for the Promotional Policy Program to the community school district. This report provides information about the success of the remedial reading program under this new organization in terms of student outcomes. Promotional…

In 1988, a series of studies was conducted at Prince George's Community College (PGCC) to assess student outcomes with respect to course pass rates, student retention, the performance of PGCC transfer students at four-year institutions, graduate transfer and employment patterns, employer evaluations of PGCC graduates, scores on licensure and…

Based on telephone interviews with educational officials from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, an overview of the use and impact of standardized tests in the United States during the 1986-87 school year was developed. In addition to interviewing officials from all state departments of education, officials from 56 sample school districts…

Replication of the Second International Mathematics Study (SIMS) in Ontario, Canada, is described and assessed. The curriculum and testing program covers numerical methods, geometry, and algebra. Whereas classical studies focused on mean scores of a system's students and on percentages of teachers for opportunity to learn (OTL), SIMS aggregates…

Public policy and measurement community issues related to the use of standardized achievement tests for students in kindergarten through grade 12 are discussed, focusing on students and parents as the end-users of test data. The viewpoints expressed are based on 18 years of experience with test score interpretation. It is suggested that technical…

Information is provided on the characteristics of St. Louis Community College (SLCC) students and their general education and liberal arts knowledge. The first sections of the report provide information on the development and administration of the General Academic Assessment (GAA), an instrument containing representative items in the humanities,…

Information is provided on the characteristics and general education and liberal arts knowledge of students attending four community college districts: Los Angeles Community College District, Miami-Dade Community College District, St. Louis Community College, and the City Colleges of Chicago. The first sections of the report provide information on…

This study adds to the effective schools debate a criticism of existing criteria--based on standardized achievement test profiles--for targeting schools for intervention programs. Qualitative and quantitative methods of gathering data result in conflicting assessments of the magnet elementary school studied as needing or not needing intervention.…