The New Zealand Ministry of Education has introduced a Numeracy Project for students aged 5-14 years in selected schools. The project encourages the adoption of flexible strategies for solving numerical problems, and discourages reliance on standard computational algorithms. One potential benefit of the project is that the methods students acquire…

An ability-based guessing model is formulated and applied to several data sets regarding educational tests in language and in mathematics. The formulation of the model is such that the probability of a correct guess does not only depend on the item but also on the ability of the individual, weighted with a general discrimination parameter. By so…

This research investigated factors affecting examination anxiety and aimed to increase schools' understanding of this topic. The study was a school-based initiative, evaluating intervention strategies to help secondary pupils with the self-management of their examination anxiety. The study compared the effects of a range of approaches on…

"The Condition of Education 2017" is a congressionally mandated annual report summarizing the latest data on education in the United States. This report is designed to help policymakers and the public monitor educational progress. This year's report includes 50 indicators on topics ranging from prekindergarten through postsecondary…

Many educators choose to believe that learning to read and write is as natural as learning to listen and speak, even though scientifically based research does not support their belief. However, most educators (as well as the public) believe that most students must be taught mathematics to learn it. Moreover, there is a body of research evidence…

When California adopted its new mathematics standards at the turn of this century, state leaders raised the expectations for its K-12 students, including encouraging them to take Algebra I in 8th grade. This brief looks at how California's high school students are meeting the state's high academic standards in math. It focuses on access to and…

Many districts and schools across the U. S. have begun to develop and administer assessments to complement state testing systems and provide additional information to monitor curriculum, instruction and schools. In advance of this trend, the Jackson Public Schools (JPS) district has had a district benchmark testing system in place for many years.…

The recent No Child Left Behind legislation has defined a vital role for large-scale assessment in determining whether students are learning. Given this increased role of standardized testing as a means of accountability, the purpose of this article is to consider how individual differences in motivational and psychological processes may…

Differential item functioning (DIF) continues to receive attention both in applied and methodological studies. Because DIF can be an indicator of irrelevant variance that can influence test scores, continuing to evaluate and improve the accuracy of detection methods is an essential step in gathering score validity evidence. Methods for detecting…

The ACT National Curriculum Survey is a one-of-a-kind nationwide survey of educational practices and expectations conducted by ACT every 3 to 5 years. ACT surveys thousands of middle school/junior high school, secondary, and postsecondary teachers in English/writing, reading (including English language arts and social studies teachers),…

This paper presents the Final Report on the Audio-Digital MCAS Pilot Program. The Department and Recording For the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) have collaborated to provide audio-digital read-aloud editions of the Grade 10 English Language Arts and Mathematics MCAS tests for a small number of students with disabilities such as dyslexia and/or…

In late January through early March of 2003, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) grade 4 and 8 reading and mathematics assessments were administered to representative samples of students in approximately 100 public schools in each state. The results of these assessments were announced in November 2003. Each state also carried…

This is school climate study of the Center for Civic Education's School Violence Prevention Demonstration Program at Ritter Elementary School in Allentown, Pennsylvania for the academic year 2006-7. Ritter, like most of Allentown's schools, is a majority-minority school. Hispanic, African American, Middle Eastern, and immigrant students outnumber…

The issue of lower than expected mathematics achievement is a concern to education leaders and policymakers at all levels of the U.S. PK-12 education system. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to determine if there was a measurable difference in achievement on the mathematics section of the state test for students (n =…

The "No Child Left Behind Act" establishes federal education policy for the United States, with a heavy focus on accountability through high-stakes testing. Provisions specific to English language learners (ELLs) include the mandate for their inclusion in state math tests, even for newcomer students enrolled for less than one year. Most…