A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted of Gordon, Kane, and Staiger's (2006) proposal to raise student achievement by identifying and replacing the bottom quartile of novice teachers, using value-added assessment of teacher performance. The cost effectiveness of this proposal was compared to the cost effectiveness of voucher programs, charter…

The "District of Columbia School Choice Incentive Act of 2003," passed by the Congress in January 2004, established the first federally funded, private school voucher program in the United States. The purpose of the new scholarship program was to provide low-income residents, particularly those whose children attend schools in need of…

This work presents the analysis of the 2001 Brazilian Basic Education Evaluation System (SAEB) achievement exam. The SAEB tested 4th, 8th, and 11th grade students, in mathematics and reading (Portuguese). We classified the students into seven socioeconomic classes, and for each class, compared the test results according to frequency of computer…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) House Subcommittee Passes Education Funding Bill: Appropriations Bill Would Provide Large Increases for Title I and…

What can teachers do in their classrooms to help students prepare for a high-stakes, standardized, multiple-choice reading test without sacrificing what they know to be best practice? Decreasing class sizes or other solutions that require substantial changes in school finance are not usually realistic options. This article outlines five…

This book offers tutors in adult, further, and higher education materials for diagnosing students with specific learning disabilities (dyslexia). It provides information for setting up an appropriate individualized teaching program and making recommendations for supporting such students. Materials and methods can be used with students from basic…

Possible population differences in speed versus level of Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) reading comprehension scores were explored. The study used operational measures computed post hoc from item-level data in GRE files for a pre-October 1977 version of the verbal test in which 40 GRE reading comprehension (RC) items were included as a…

The implementation of the Dallas (Texas) Public Schools 1995-96 Title I PK-2 reading and language arts portfolio entailed monitoring and data collection to determine the student outcomes and the technical quality of the instrument. A total of 2,001 portfolios were reviewed for prekindergarten through grade 2. The components were generally in place…

In a study prompted by the need to standardize the reporting of educational progress of adult language minority students in Illinois, a commonly used adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) reading test was compared with two frequently used Adult Basic Education (ABE) reading tests. The testing instruments used were the ELSA (English Language…

A study examined the ecological validity of five modified measures for children in the prereading and initial reading stages of development. Subjects, 650 students in two cohorts, kindergarten through second grade, were administered modifications of the Early Reading Test (ERT), the Chicago Reading Test (Chicago), the Error Detection Test (EDT),…

The 197 reading tests described in this bibliography assess various reading skills such as comprehension, oral reading, silent reading, independent, instructional and frustration levels. Some of the reading tests are part of overall achievement batteries. Some of the tests are in Spanish. This bibliography does not include reading readiness tests.…

A practicum addressed the significant difference between the reading comprehension levels of gifted students and their ability to demonstrate achieved levels on exams designed to measure these levels. Nineteen fifth-grade students participated in daily timed activities targeting reading comprehension, reading rate, attitudes towards test taking,…

This technical report describes a series of three studies designed to instruct students in the relationship between texts, comprehension questions, and two sources of answer information--the text to which a given question refers and their own background knowledge. The focus of the technical report is on individual differences in the amount and…

The Education Voucher Demonstration began in the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District during the 1972-73 school year. Under the voucher concept, parents freely select a school for their child and receive a credit or voucher equal to the cost of the child's education that is paid directly to the school upon enrollment. It was presumed that…

The 4th Grade Test (1984) of the Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress includes 18 reading items, 27 geometry items, 31 science items, a 27-item student questionnaire regarding science opinions, and 40 mathematics items. The test booklet only is included here. (PN)