CASAS, in cooperation with the CASAS National Consortium Policy Council, conducted a study to provide guidance to program and instructional staff regarding student readiness to take the GED Tests. The study looked at the relationship of CASAS reading and math scores to official 2002 GED test results from five states--California, Hawaii, Iowa,…

The relationship between coaching and subsequent performance on the SAT I is a complex issue. Overall, anecdotal reports from one or two students and even studies that gauge the effects of coaching by examining the score gains for students who have enrolled in these programs are highly misleading and will not present an accurate picture of the…

Teachers typically receive the brunt of the criticism for poor performance on large-scale standardized tests. In order to stave off this criticism, some teachers have begun to provide instruction that utilizes actual or cloned items from these high-stakes tests. Such teaching to the test rarely helps learning and has a detrimental effect on the…

This insightful and practical guide for parents shows how they often undermine rather than encourage their teens' success on one of the most stressful standardized tests--the SAT--and what strategies will remedy the problem. In recent years this test has taken on fearsome proportions, matched only by the growing competition for slots at major…

The Document-Based Question (DBQ) is an integral part of the United States History Advanced Placement Exam, and is required as part of an exam that also includes answering two general "free response" essays and a multiple choice question section. For the DBQ, students are given a question about a specific time period in American history,…

In France, secondary teachers are public sector employees. Becoming a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) teacher in secondary education is subject to passing public competitive entry examinations. Preparation for these examinations is provided in College Departments, which are essentially assessed on the basis of their success…

A College Board-sponsored survey of a nationally representative sample of takers of the 1995-96 SAT I: Reasoning Test yielded a database for more than 4,000 examinees, about 500 of whom had attended formal coaching programs outside their schools. Several alternative analytical methods were used to estimate the effects of coaching on SAT scores.…

The five-paragraph theme, while widely used by writing instructors, has often been criticized for its tendency to focus on a rigid formula rather than a writer's ideas. This study investigates the decision of an early-career teacher, Leigh, to teach her eighth-grade students the five-paragraph model in the context of a state-mandated writing…

In preparing this volume, every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the most recent authorities have been consulted, and it is believed that a faithful view is presented of the various sciences embraced, as far as they are at present developed. It is the intention of the author to keep his book up to the times by constant revision, and to…

No one can dispute that tests should measure important content, and for many (but not all) purposes, tests should be aligned with curricular goals. Thus in many cases, alignment is clearly better than the alternative, and nothing that follows here argues otherwise. Unfortunately, however, this does not imply that alignment is sufficient protection…

In the author's experience, Colombia is among the most misunderstood Spanish-speaking countries. Most of the news about Columbia involves drug trafficking or guerilla warfare, due to the many social and political problems that face the country. It is rare that the public is informed about the culture and people of this beautiful South American…

The purpose of this report is to provide information on the outcomes of the Intervention for College Attendance Program, a program of competitive grants awarded to postsecondary institutions, professional organizations, and community-based organizations. Prior to the 2008-09 biennium, the program focused on provision of college awareness and the…

This study analyzed the effects of online formative and summative assessment materials on undergraduates' experiences with attention to learners' testing behaviors (e.g., performance, study habits) and beliefs (e.g., test anxiety, perceived test threat). The results revealed no detriment to students' perceptions of tests or performances on tests…

To document the extent of special test preparation for the SAT I: Reasoning Test, a stratified random sample of some 6,700 students who registered to take the SAT in 1995-96 was surveyed. A smaller companion survey sought information about special preparation programs from a stratified random sample of secondary schools whose students take the…

Utilizing a pre- and posttest research design, with an instructional intervention of good practices in notetaking, the notes taken by examinees during a computer-based listening comprehension test prior to and following the instructional intervention were examined for particular notetaking strategies. Questionnaires probed perceptions of the…