The utility of the biomedical model of adjusted statistics is demonstrated. The model is recommended for use by educational researchers to randomize subjects for a more accurate estimate of school programs' success or failure when compared across classrooms or other units. (Author/MH)

Survey data were analyzed from 14- and 17-year-old Israeli students--1,990 ninth graders and 2,000 twelfth graders, respectively--involved in the Second International Science Study. The effects of ethnic origin (Afro-Asian versus European/American) and gender on high school student achievement, interest/motivation, attitudes, and self-concept…

A study was conducted at Golden West College (GWC) in California to analyze the relationship between first-time students' participation in the college's assessment and orientation programs and their fall-to-spring persistence at the college. The study sample consisted of fall 1991 students who had declared either transfer, degree, or certificate…

During the 1993 session, the Nevada State Legislature enacted into law Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 385.347, commonly known as the Nevada School Accountability Law. It requires all schools in Nevada to inform the public of the performance of public schools throughout the state. School accountability was accomplished through a system of reports…

While the publication of school report cards and profiles is common in a number of states, their contents and formats vary as they represent the concerns and initiatives of policymakers. Over recent years, several studies have been made of school report cards and profiles. In this investigation, the focus is a comparison of report cards and…

Examining testing practices in other countries can help formulate ideas and issues in establishing a national assessment system in the United States. Based on recent reports by the Office of Technology and Assessment and the National Endowment for the Humanities, this digest provides an overview of the national examinations in several European…

The 1992-93 school year was the third complete year under the mandates of the Oklahoma school reform act initiated in 1989, which established the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program. This report identifies progress or change that has occurred in a variety of educational areas since the inception of reforms in every school district in Oklahoma.…

Since 1988 the Vermont Department of Education has been developing an innovative statewide performance assessment program. In 1990, the RAND Corporation began evaluating the Vermont assessment program, focusing specifically on the portfolio component of its assessment system. This report presents results from the evaluation in the 1992-93 school…

This study demonstrates that the validity and usefulness of mathematics achievement tests can be improved by defining psychologically meaningful subscores that yield differential relations with student, teacher, and school variables. The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) 8th- and 10th-grade math tests were subjected to full…

The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), here summarized for administrators, are intended to provide information about the skills development of individual students and about relative strengths and weaknesses of the instructional program. The ITBS represents the first comprehensive elementary school and secondary school statewide testing program in…

Pertinent research studies, legislative documents, labor market agreements, official reports, and governmental decisions on issues concerning vocational education and training (VET) in Sweden were analyzed in an effort to evaluate the state of coordination of VET in Sweden and the effectiveness of its National Training Board. The findings of the…

The equity of a national examination system using authentic assessments is discussed from technological and historical perspectives. Testing is, in fact, a technology embedded in sociotechnical systems such as education, government, and business. The historical perspective is important because it provides lessons for present policy. The first…

Since 1989, the Texas Education Agency has reported selected results from the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Testing (ACT) Program's original and Enhanced ACT Assessment for prior year graduating seniors. This fourth annual report presents data for the 1990-91 graduating class. Score data from these examinations are…

This document is the second annual report to North Carolina educators, policy makers, and the public on the performance of each of the state's local public school systems primarily in terms of outcomes of education based on student achievement. Information in the Report Card makes it possible to compare: (1) current levels of performance with…

April 1990 marked the tenth year of the effort mandated by the Arizona State Legislature to assess student performance through nationally standardized norm-referenced achievement testing in reading, grammar, and mathematics for students in grades 1 through 12. This was the sixth year the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills were administered to students in…