This report, fourth in an annual series, presents information about the status of public schools in Rhode Island. Three types of indicators are provided: (1) education outcomes; (2) community context; and (3) policies and practices. Education outcomes include results of student testing on the Metropolitan Achievement Test and other measures of…

The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) is responsible for improving the form and use of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAGB is beginning to define achievement levels to state clearly what students should know and be able to do at key grades in school. This report creates a policy framework, definitions, and…

The unprecedented influx of new settlers into Canada since 1962 has compounded the problems of minority student assessment and placement. This paper discusses the underlying issues involved in assessment and placement of minority students, then reviews related problems. Until the 1950s, Canada's school system, like that of Great Britain and the…

This curriculum guide outlines Prince George's County (MD) schools' seventh and eighth grade program of exploratory foreign language. Topics presented include: administrative and instructional policy statements; course overview; notes on concepts, skills, and content; timetables for fall and spring semester courses; rationale and goals; student…

The first part of a two-part manual, this guide emphasizes how migrant counselors administer their duties, procedures to follow and functional aids to employ in working with migrant secondary students. Divided into four sections, the guide is intended to help experienced and inexperienced counselors and to provide administrators and teachers with…

A bibliography of 238 journal articles, most of which are annotated, is presented that covers various aspects of the status of the minority student in American higher education. In addition, a list of research studies on college student attrition and persistence is included, since many of these studies may have special implications for low income…

In 1976 a demonstration project at the Connecticut Wilderness School integrated a Confluent Education curriculum in Outward Bound type courses, to facilitate affective learning for a more meaningful and relevant experience. A review of Outward Bound literature identified the need for affective learning as a significant program constituent. Five…

Results of the seventh year of testing by the Pupil Assessment Program of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction are presented. In 1982, objective-referenced tests in science, mathematics, and geometry were given to a sample of Wisconsin's public school students in grades 4, 8, 11, and 12. Students were also given the Comprehensive Tests…

Background: The question whether old media are driven out of existence by new media has been a long concern in academic and industrial research but has received no definitive answer. Aim: This paper goes beyond most previous studies of Internet impact on traditional media, which have placed their relationship within a competition-based framework,…

This study explores the utility of analytic scoring for the TOEFL® Academic Speaking Test (TAST) in providing useful and reliable diagnostic information in three aspects of candidates' performance: delivery, language use, and topic development. G studies were used to investigate the dependability of the analytic scores, the distinctness of the…

Legal issues associated with competency testing of teachers are reviewed, with an emphasis on the problem of bias against minority examinees taking standardized tests. The central legislative foci of legal activity in this area are Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII requires employers to show, with validation studies,…

A teaching handbook accompanying North Carolina's revised competency-based curriculum for second language instruction in elementary and secondary schools is presented. An introductory section outlines the philosophy and rationale behind the curriculum and its revision, discusses the role of thinking skills in learning, briefly describes programs…

In June 1989, third, sixth, and ninth graders in Alberta (Canada) were administered standardized tests in English, Social Studies, and Science, respectively. This report presents results of these tests at each grade level and by gender, with comparative data from 1985. Data for 31,998 third graders (English), 29,918 sixth graders (social studies),…

Rockland Community College's (RCC) Developmental Studies Department serves students in need of remedial/developmental education, and more than 40% of RCC's entering freshmen are enrolled in the department yearly. The federally funded Special Services Project provides supplemental tutorial services for the most severely financially and…

Gender differences in achievement were studied in five academic areas: (1) vocabulary; (2) language usage; (3) reading; (4) mathematics problem solving; and (5) using sources of information. Standardized achievement test scores for a sample of 3,002 students (1,642 females and 1,360 males) who were tested in each of 10 consecutive years, grades 3…