The Ohio Sixth-grade Proficiency Tests are designed to measure a sixth-grade level of literacy and basic competence. Beginning in March 1996, Ohio sixth graders will take proficiency tests in writing, reading, mathematics, citizenship, and science. Both teachers and administrators have been involved in the test development process, establishing…

This study explored fourth-grade teachers' understanding of mathematical problem solving, an aspect of the Vermont portfolio assessment program that has been largely ignored. Teachers' conceptions of problem solving, their knowledge of problem-solving strategies, their selection and evaluation of problem-solving tasks, and their instructional…

This report is a graphic presentation of teacher and student information, revenue and expenditure data, test results, and other student outcomes for each public school district. The indicators in the district report reflect the increased student enrollment (594,326) and staff (38,290) in 1993, as well as the new cost accounting system used by the…

This second statewide School Performance Report offers a snapshot of public education in Wisconsin during the 1992-93 school year. District-collected data make up the School Climate section, providing information on enrollment, attendance, suspensions, expulsions, retentions, dropouts, graduation and later education, and extracurricular and…

The work of the Assessment Development Laboratory (ADL) at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) in developing an assessment for identifying accomplished teachers of English language arts to young adolescents (aged 11 to 15 years) for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is reviewed. The assessment is meant to…

Two ethnic groups of students, majority and minority, were compared on variables of a Psychological Productivity Model. Black and Hispanic students were grouped as minorities, and White students were considered majority students. Participants were 120 high school students from an urban high school in the Southwest. The Psychological Productivity…

This chapter includes all cases, at either the K-12 or higher education level, that deal with student-athletes, coaches, athletic directors, athletic associations, and booster organizations. However, no case law is discussed that pertains to physical education instruction. The cases are discussed in the following sections: (1) eligibility; (2)…

In January 1991 the Federal Minister of Employment and Immigration announced the establishment of the Canadian Labour Force Development Board (CLFDB) as Canada's national training board. Training boards at the provincial and local levels are still in the developmental stage. The lack of a national coordinating mechanism for all aspects of training…

This study investigated whether different groups of native speakers assess second language learners' language skills differently for three elicitation techniques. Subjects were six learners of college-level Arabic as a second language, tape-recorded performing three tasks: participating in a modified oral proficiency interview, narrating a picture…

Papers reporting research on Spanish second language learning include: "Discourse Features of Spanish Oral Production at the Novice Level" (Rebecca Jo Bearden); "A Discourse Approach to the Assessment of Foreign Language Oral Proficiency" (Dale April Koike, Fanny Hinojosa); "Acquisition of Spanish Definite Articles by English-Speaking Learners of…

ACT and 127 institutions (primarily community colleges) worked together on a Partners in Progress Research project comparing ASSET reading, writing, and math scores (incoming student placement tests) with CAAP reading, writing, and math scores (exiting student outcomes test). This was in order to refine the content of the related exams, and…

A large urban northwest school district is engaged in the construction of a central accountability policy that depends on school-based implementation. As part of this effort, the district has implemented a standards-based exit policy. Each school has identified students as either meeting grade-level standards or not meeting these standards. This…

Papers on second language oral proficiency testing include: "Language Proficiency Interviews: A Discourse Approach" (Agnes Weiyun He, Richard Young); "Re-Analyzing the OPI: How Much Does It Look Like Natural Conversation?" (Marysia Johnson, Andrea Tyler); "Evaluating Learner Interactional Skills: Conversation at the Micro…

April 1987 marked the seventh year of the statewide testing program in reading, language, and mathematics mandated by the Arizona State legislature. The Arizona testing program used nationally-standardized norm-referenced achievement tests. The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) were administered to students in grades 1 through 8, the Stanford…

To help determine how the introduction of alternate assessment can be structured to maximize its acceptance and long-term adoption by teachers, a case study was conducted of the introduction of alternate assessment in a suburban middle school in the spring of 1991. Three seventh-grade life science teachers, three eighth-grade physical science…