This study explores the degree of alignment between high school mathematics and language arts assessments and community college placement examinations in widespread use in California. The study was conducted in two stages. The first stage analyzed the variety of placement exams used to determine their core content. The second stage analyzed the…

Many undergraduate institutions are dealing with less-than-prepared students entering the biology major. When the biology department at College of Notre Dame of Maryland analyzed data from five past cohorts of prospective biology majors, it was evident that there was a significant correlation between their success in the introductory course in the…

This paper reports a study on the use of ICT to teach parabolic functions to secondary school students. The project was informed by the need to find better ways of presenting parabolic functions to secondary school students in order to improve their learning of the concepts and improve their interest and performance in mathematics. The study was…

This dissertation research comprised three studies focused on vision-specific skills, and their association with functional and academic outcomes for school-age students with visual impairment. The studies involved analysis of secondary data for 850 students with visual impairment who participated in the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal…

This study examines the relationship between ninth graders' math course grades (passing or failing) and future performance on the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE). Although correlative data is not predictive, it is able to give a sense of which students one can expect to be successful and which students are more likely to benefit…

Federal legislation such as "No Child Left Behind" mandated that students with disabilities be included in accountability standards, creating an important responsibility to fairly assess all students, even those with disabilities. Consequently, a sense of urgency was placed on the entire educational system to ensure that these students…

Does differential access to computer technology at home compound the educational disparities between rich and poor? Would a program of government provision of computers to early secondary school students reduce these disparities? We use administrative data on North Carolina public school students to corroborate earlier surveys that document broad…

This study examined the effect of linguistic modification on middle school students' ability to show what they know and can do on math assessments. REL West's study on middle school math assessment accommodations found that simplifying the language--or linguistic modification--on standardized math test items made it easier for English Language…

This handbook describes the responsibilities of district and school assessment coordinators in the administration of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). This updated guidebook contains the following sections: (1) General Assessment Guidelines for All Assessments; (2) Writing Specific Guidelines; (3) Reading and Mathematics…

This study investigated the impact of a district-wide mathematics professional development program on elementary teachers' general and personal efficacy. It also explored connections among teacher efficacy and socioeconomic status with student achievement. Using a quantitative approach, a job-embedded professional development initiative…

easyCBM[R] is an online benchmark and progress monitoring assessment system designed for use within a response to intervention (RTI) framework. Part of the purpose of easyCBM[R] is to help educators identify students who may be at risk for failure. Often, students deemed at-risk are those who would be predicted to not pass the state test. Previous…

The 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey highlighted how attitudes to mathematics had declined sharply for students in many of the high attaining countries in the survey, England being no exception. There is a notable drop in positive attitudes to mathematics between 9 and 14, as well as a remarkable decline for 14 year olds…

The purpose of this study was to examine college algebra students' perceptions of self-efficacy relating to method of instruction in a large-lecture seminar and self-paced mastery outcomes course. This study was prompted by a lack of information currently available regarding students' perceptions of specific methods of instruction regarding…

'This action research study was conducted on a fourth grade rural classroom in Orange County, N.Y. for the purpose of determining if the use of the VoiceThread program will affect student performance in mathematics writing. A baseline of student performance on this measure was administered in the fall of 2010 using the NYS Holistic rubric of a 3…

Studies show that the mathematics test-score gap is evident at every level of schooling and can be linked to students' earlier performance. For example, a mathematics performance gap was found in children as young as three years of age (Case & Griffin, 1990; Jordan, Huttenlocher, & Levine, 1992). Addressing the mathematics performance gap…