The second year of "Keep the Promise" Research--an in-depth, three-year study of academic remediation programs in Massachusetts' three largest school districts--is producing an array of evidence demonstrating the severely negative impact of the Commonwealth's 80% cut in MCAS remediation funding in the F'04 budget. This report--a…

This study had the purpose of comparing the effects of two approaches in teaching mathematics to secondary special education students. The study attempted to answer the following questions: (1) Were there significant differences between group means of mathematics achievement test scores for students in a diagnostic-prescriptive mathematics program…

Assesses the impact of libraries on one measure of high school reading proficiency, the verbal section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Data on per pupil expenditures, computer software, teacher to student ratio, public library circulation, and books per student in the school library media center were analyzed from all 50 United States and…

Describes longitudinal studies conducted at the Drexel Early Childhood Center (Pennsylvania) that used Self-Controlled Interactive Learning Systems to teach reading skills. Standardized test scores for at-risk students are compared with other students; experimental and control groups using standard instruction are compared; and studies of…

This article examines undergraduate course tests, letter symbol grades, and grade point averages within the context of three dominant undergraduate models of instruction: (1) information dispensing; (2) training of scholars; and (3) personnel selection agency for society. Argues for critical examination of these forces and models to prevent the…

Performance of 156 undergraduate and 48 graduate students on a self-adapted test (SFAT)--students choose the difficulty level of their test items--was compared with performance on a computer-adapted test (CAT). Those taking the SFAT obtained higher ability scores and reported lower posttest state anxiety than did CAT takers. (SLD)

Data for 542, 490, 464, and 430 Baltimore (Maryland) children in winter 1982-83, summer 1983, winter 1983-84, and summer 1984, respectively, show about equal mathematics achievement of African Americans and whites at the start of grade 1, but African Americans were behind about 0.5 standard deviation by grade 3. (SLD)

Two studies conducted with 244 academically gifted seventh graders and 1,996 high school students indicate that specific content knowledge taught during a short time does not increase Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, but that educational experience over 5 years does relate to development of abilities measured by the SAT. (SLD)

A study was conducted at the University of Southern Mississippi School of Library Science to quantitatively determine whether courses adequately addressed program goals and objectives. Results showed that service goals and librarianship were reasonably addressed, but research and management goals were addressed in few courses. The statement of…

This paper discusses how to determine whether a test was developed in a legally defensible manner, reviewing general issues, specific cases bearing on different types of test use, some evaluative dimensions, and evidence of test quality. Tests constructed and used according to existing standards will generally stand legal scrutiny. (SLD)

Although women's enrollment at leading institutions of science and engineering have risen significantly in recent years, they still frequently make up less than one-third of the student population, despite women's high academic qualifications. Many institutions admit more women than men, but women are choosing other colleges and careers. Women…

In the three years that the Pinellas County, Florida, district has offered its more than 7,800 teachers a performance bonus as mandated by the state, exactly two have qualified and taken home the money. To get a paycheck topped up by 5 percent, Pinellas teachers are required to have had a hand in helping students raise their test scores by 120…

This study assesses the predictive validity of the Phelps Kindergarten Readiness Scale (PKRS) for later academic achievement and explores the utility of a domain-specific measure of kindergarten readiness. Kindergarten readiness scores were significantly correlated with both math and language arts achievement as measured by New York State…

We evaluated the impact of RIPP-7, a seventh grade violence prevention curriculum designed to strengthen and extend the effects of the sixth grade RIPP-6 curriculum. Classes of seventh graders at two urban middle schools serving predominantly African-American youth where RIPP-6 had been implemented the preceding school year were randomized to…

The locus of control in teacher education has been outside the hands of those who educate our nation's teachers for more than a century. Essentialists have long controlled the agenda for public schooling in America, and it is evident as well that their influence has prevailed in both the form and function of teacher education. The authors suggest…