This paper profiles Delaware's test score trends through 2008-09. In 2006, the mean scale score on the state 4th grade reading test was 474 for non-Title I students and 464 for Title I students. In 2009, the mean scale score in 4th grade reading was 478 for non-Title I students and 467 for Title I students. Between 2006 and 2009, the mean scale…

This paper profiles California's test score trends through 2008-09. In 2004, the mean scale score on the state 4th grade reading test was 341 for non-Title I students and 315 for Title I students. In 2008, the mean scale score in 4th grade reading was 379 for non-Title I students and 340 for Title I students. Between 2004 and 2008, the mean scale…

This paper profiles Idaho's test score trends through 2008-09. In 2007, the mean scale score on the state 4th grade reading test was 209 for non-Title I students and 205 for Title I students. In 2007, the mean scale score in 4th grade reading was 211 for non-Title I students and 208 for Title I students. Between 2007 and 2009, the mean scale score…

This paper profiles Arizona's test score trends through 2008-09. In 2005, the mean scale score on the state 4th grade reading test was 478 for non-Title I students and 445 for Title I students. In 2008, the mean scale score in 4th grade reading was 477 for non-title I students and 450 for title I students. Between 2005 and 2008, the mean scale…

Representative samples of fourth- and eighth-grade public school students from 21 urban districts participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics. Eighteen of the districts participating in the 2011 NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) participated in earlier assessment years, while three districts…

In California, Algebra I is the 8th grade math content standard. The United States Department of Education found the annual 8th grade General Math California Standards Test to be out of compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 since it assesses 6th and 7th grade math standards and not Algebra I math content. In response to the…

The High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) is the fifth in a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) secondary longitudinal studies. The core research questions for HSLS:09 explore secondary to postsecondary transition plans and the evolution of those plans; the paths into and out of science, technology, engineering,…

An equating study was carried out in autumn 2006 by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) on behalf of Renaissance Learning, to provide validation evidence for the use of the Renaissance Star Reading and Star Mathematics tests in English schools. The study investigated the correlation between the Star tests and established tests.…

In an Angoff standard setting procedure, judges estimate the probability that a hypothetical randomly selected minimally competent candidate will answer correctly each item in the test. In many cases, these item performance estimates are made twice, with information shared with the panelists between estimates. Especially for long tests, this…

Many states allow those high school students who have failed a high stakes tests to retake the exam. At stake can be the student's eligibility to receive a diploma and the accountability status of the school. This study examined how high schools supported students who retook the mathematics portion of a high stakes exam. Ten schools that had…

Given the policy imperative of using multiple measures for state education accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), this study examines similarities and discrepancies between the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the states' own math assessment results in Kentucky and Maine, with a focus on 3 major academic…

Researchers of mathematics learning disability (MLD) commonly use cutoff scores to determine which participants have MLD. Some researchers apply more restrictive cutoffs than others (e.g., performance below the 10th vs. below the 35th percentile). Different cutoffs may lead to groups of children that differ in their profile of math and related…

Number sense development was tracked from the beginning of kindergarten through the middle of first grade, over six time points. Children (n=277) were then assessed on general math achievement at the end of first grade. Number sense performance in kindergarten, as well as number sense growth, accounted for 66 percent of the variance in first-grade…

A problem frequently confronted in item response theory (IRT) applications is that the item parameters calibrated using more than two independent samples of subjects must be expressed on the same scale. The existing methods were developed for a pairwise transformation, that is, from one scale to the other. The purpose of this study is to introduce…

A framework is offered for fostering systematic, creative synthesis across various case studies. The challenge for those seeking to synthesize from case studies is to develop respect for the individual case context while permitting some blurring of unique features to occur in the synthesis. Case studies are meant to render an account of specific…