This paper is the second of a series of four reports that document the achievement monitoring component of a three-year study on the acquisition of addition-subtraction problem-solving skills by young children. A set of performance objectives contained in or ancillary to 10 instructional units on sentence-writing for verbal problems and algorithms…

One of the most ambitious attempts to assess students' understanding of mathematics was carried out in England between 1974 and 1979. The results of this study indicate that there is a need in an overall assessment program to evaluate students' algebraic understanding as well as to measure their achievement in algebraic manipulations and problem…

In order to assess the locally developed curricula, the Cherry Creek School District of Colorado developed several objective-referenced tests focused on objectives that instructional staff have identified as important for all district students. The local assessments are designed to work in conjunction with the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBSs) to…

Replication of the Second International Mathematics Study (SIMS) in Ontario, Canada, is described and assessed. The curriculum and testing program covers numerical methods, geometry, and algebra. Whereas classical studies focused on mean scores of a system's students and on percentages of teachers for opportunity to learn (OTL), SIMS aggregates…

In this report, the mathematics and science proficiency of students in third, seventh, and eleventh grades in Catholic schools was compared to the national average of the 1985-86 National Assessment of Mathematics and Science. The introduction describes the differences in reading/writing and mathematics/science that the National Assessment of…

This report covers the levels of basic skills (verbal and computational skills and elementary algebra skills) among freshmen admitted to New Jersey's public colleges and universities during 1988. These levels of proficiency are estimated from results of the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test. Designed both to assist colleges in the…

In 1987, the administration of North Carolina Competency Tests to public school sophomores resulted in 94.4% passing the reading test and 90.6% passing the mathematics test. Rates were similar to rates for the 1986 sophomores, but were higher than rates for juniors in the 1978-1983 period. The 1987 passing rate in mathematics was lower than for…

A dilemma arises in the attempt to establish procedures for valid assessment of academic learning. Measures of learning with high pedagogical validity often have poor psychometric properties. Conversely, tests that are well-constructed by psychometric standards may succeed in sorting and ordering students or schools, but have little pedagogical…

This publication reports the results of a research study on the feasibility and validity of various accommodations in the context of mathematics assessment. The study compared limited English proficiency (LEP) and non-LEP students' scores on 20 science items under three different conditions: standard National Assessment for Educational Progress…

State Board of Education policy in North Carolina requires students who entered the ninth grade in 1994-95 and later to meet a higher competency standard in reading and mathematics. These students must receive an Achievement Level III or above on the eighth-grade reading and mathematics tests in order to receive a North Carolina high school…

The purpose of this document is to report the performance of students in the classes of 1998 to 1005 on the more rigorous competency standard in North Carolina as of the 2000-2001 school year. This report contains aggregate and disaggregated state-level results from administrations of the North Carolina competency tests of reading and mathematics…

There is a strong and consistent relationship between PSAT/NMSQT scores and AP Examination grades for nearly all courses--higher scores on the PSAT/NMSQT indicate a higher probability of success on AP Examinations. PSAT/NMSQT verbal or mathematics scores are often more highly related to AP Examination grades than overall high school GPA, number of…

Reports that those who were taught proportions exhibit more of a tendency to transfer than those who were not. Investigates the relationship of previous learning and problem-solving abilities to the learning of proportionality in facilitating transfer. Shows the magnitude of effects of task assignment on transfer. (YP)

Studies of the mathematics assessments of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are summarized. One study found that omit rates for NAEP test items were higher for African Americans and Hispanics than for whites. The other found that descriptions and examples for the 1992 mathematics achievement levels were misleading. (SLD)

Two data collection designs, counterbalanced and spiraling (Angoff's Design I and Angoff's Design II) were compared using item response theory and equipercentile equating methodology in the vertical equating of 2 mathematics achievement tests using 1,000 eleventh graders and 1,000 twelfth graders. The greater stability of Design II is discussed.…