This book moves beyond traditional thinking and approaches to multicultural education to more accurately reflect the dramatically changing circumstances faced by North American schools in an age of globalization. The volumes address ways in which race and ethnicity affect learning across the life span, at all levels of formal education as well as…

The most popular methods for setting passing scores and other standards on educational tests rely heavily on subjective judgment. This paper presents and evaluates a new procedure for setting and evaluating standards on tests based on cluster analysis of test data. The clustering procedure was applied to a statewide mathematics proficiency test…

This document discusses educational assessment and accountability in current educational reform efforts and the implications for students with disabilities. A preface addresses common educational reforms, new laws promoting education reform, and how today's reforms fit with special education. The paper then describes three types of assessment:…

An examination of measures currently used to assess degree of bilingualism in individuals looks at the problems inherent in them, ideal measures, and how to use available measures. It is suggested that definition of bilinguality is a central cause for measurement problems, since a bilingual is assumed to be the sum of two monolinguals, without…

This is the 17th year of statewide student testing under the Arizona Student Achievement Program. To fulfill the requirements of Arizona law, a nationally standardized, norm-referenced achievement test in the subjects of reading, language, and mathematics must be adopted and implemented for Arizona schools. For the 1996-97 school year, the State…

Recent increases in the speed and accessibility of computers and networks have made it possible to administer tests on-line. On-line assessment can be conducted in a controlled setting, such as a testing center, or distributed over local area networks or the Internet to libraries and student homes, allowing students the flexibility to complete…

The Modified-Revised Science Teacher's Behavior Inventory (MR-STBI) was used in earlier studies to analyze the teaching strategies emphasized in instruction in science classrooms. This analysis showed changes in teaching strategies that occurred as a result of science teachers' professional development through longer-term modeled,…

This study addresses the question, "What should graduate students know about research and statistics after completing an initial course?" Individuals who teach such courses at various Carnegie classifications of institutions were surveyed about the specific characteristics of an introductory graduate research course at their own institutions to…

This publication is the fifth issue of "Report Card" in a series that provides information about how well North Carolina schools are serving the youth of the state. The "Report Card" presents information related primarily to the outcomes of education based on student achievement. Statewide performance results are presented…

This paper begins with a literature review of research on syntactic maturity, defined as the developmental stages from one- and two-word utterances to the hierarchical structures of adult speech, and seeks to answer questions in the context of past and current research in this area. It attempts to study some of the ramifications of the movement…

The focus of second language education is communication, and oral language is central to the teaching of foreign language at all levels. Oral language in the foreign language classroom is the most problematic of all skills to assess. Teachers' concerns can be divided in the following areas: (1) What to assess: form or content; (2) How to assess:…

This guide is designed to give the student helpful information about Arizona's Instrument To Measure the Standards (AIMS) for grade 8. The guide provides examples of the type of questions students see on AIMS and explains how items are scored. It does not teach what the student needs to know to do well on AIMS, but it will help the student know…

This report presents detailed information about the student assessment results of the Colorado Student Assessment Program. Included among the data is information on student achievement by gender, ethnicity or race, disability, and accommodation categories. In addition, achievement data are presented for each school district and for schools…

This paper discusses federal requirements for addressing general education curriculum standards and student participation in educational assessments in the Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) of students with disabilities. Specific regulations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are cited, and the following recommendations are…

This report contains the results from the first administration of the 8th and 11th grade science and social studies portions of the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP). As such, they are an important part of the state's efforts to educate all students to a higher level. Science and social studies data for grades 8 and 11 are summarized here;…