Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores of Asian, Hispanic, Black, and White students with similar socioeconomic backgrounds and access to similar instruction in the same large midwestern school district were compared. Income levels were determined by using federal guidelines for free and reduced school lunches. The population of the study consisted…

This book presents a systematic approach to developing a new college course involving, first, global analysis; second, thought, planning, and methodical preparation; and, third, evaluation of results. Chapter 1 recommends that the teacher examine the conditions of the teaching situation including reasons for the course, resources available, and…

This thesis focuses on the transferability of grammatical competence to grammatically correct performance in the future tense in 10th grade German students who were learning English as a Second Language. The goal was to suggest an empirical contribution to the issue of whether implicit or explicit knowledge of grammatical rules or grammatical…

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…

Recent levels of naturalization have reached record highs. Since 1950, most applicants must meet strict English literacy and civics requirements. An Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) examiner evaluates the applicant's knowledge of U. S. history and government, administers a short written dictation, and conducts an oral interview.…

Use of a directed creative writing exercise to assess intermediate language students' skills is discussed. The technique was developed for second-year college Spanish instruction as an alternative to conventional writing tests in which anxiety or lack of motivation may inhibit performance. Differences in the nature of language skills (listening,…

These three 1995 newsletter issues explore concepts and problems relevant to middle-level education. The cover story for the spring issue examines new trends in educational assessment. Additional briefs in this issue discuss team teaching, school reform as a community-wide effort, and home-school collaboration. The cover article for the Fall issue…

At the 1989 meeting of the National Faculty of the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), faculty members were invited to present testimony on what they viewed as the most pressing research and policy issues in the fields of testing, evaluation, and standards. These views are expressed in this document,…

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…

Assessment of student learning, the measuring of students' progress and performance, is an important concern for library media specialists. Twelve articles are presented which address the issue of assessment of library media services. The titles are: "The Growth of Assessment" (George F. Madaus, Ann G. A. Tan); "Library Information…

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 place for standardized testing in Chapter 1 evaluation is discussed. There is substantial evidence available on the negative effects of high-stakes standardized testing, and there is a clear link between Chapter 1 requirements and the amount of testing in most school districts. Standardized testing is usually used to identify eligible…