The curriculum guide contains units of study about careers appropriate for high school level students in grades 9 and 10. The units focus on the four areas of mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts. The document contains a discussion of fundamental cognitive skills and a rationale for each. The format for presenting each goal of…

Major goals of the Gila River Adult Basic Education Experimental Demonstration Project in this program description are identified as: (1) improving the academic skills of hard-to-reach adult dropouts and (2) training non-degreed local residents (people 19 years old or older with an 8th grade performance level) to recruit, counsel, and teach…

This paper presents the designs underlying an IPI approach to ninth grade science implemented in the Jamesville-DeWitt schools in New York State. Briefly described are the generalizable instructional model, evaluation systems for assessing individual performance and the effectiveness of the instructional program and the support systems which make…

The role of standardized tests in American education is being challenged as many feel that they are unfair and actually reinforce and legitimize existing inequalities. The Educational Testing Service, the SAT, meritocracy, test coaching, and economic bias are discussed. (MLW)

The Charleston County School District (CCSD) has recently begun development of criterion-referenced tests (CRT) in different subject areas and for different grade levels. This paper outlines the process that CCSD followed in the development of math and language arts tests for grades one through eight and area exams for required high school…

The feasibility of pre-equating, or establishing conversions from raw to scaled scores through the use of pretest data before operationally administering a test, was investigated for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Item-response theory based equating methods were used to estimate item parameters on SAT pretest data, instead of using final form…

Reading and mathematics tests of the New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills Tests were modified to accomodate handicapped students, in order to determine whether or not students would perform better on the modified test forms. Changes were made in the format of the test booklets, answer sheets, and administration instructions to accomodate the following…

This publication is primarily designed for educational practitioners who possess little or no training in conducting mail surveys or have not kept current on the present state of the art of survey methods and techniques. It is also intended to be a checking and comparing aid to ensure that important research considerations are taken into account.…

A criterion-referenced instrument, Inventory of Cognitive Skills and Visual-Motor Functioning, was devised to evaluate a prekindergarten program for economically disadvantaged 4-year-olds. The Inventory, administered to each child at the beginning and end of the preschool experience, provided specific information in: (1) knowledge of body parts,…

This analysis is part of an effort to develop a method of showing accountability for the educational responsibilities of the school system to the children of Atlanta, Ga. Forrest Elementary School serves a low-income community and receives ESEA Title I aid. Faculty planned to look at the effectiveness of its program in raising the reading levels…

The Head Start Measures Project was a 3-year study to develop a set of measures designed specifically for Head Start children. The measures are based on a path-referenced approach to assessment, in which children's performance is described in terms of their position along paths of development. A path is defined as a sequence of skills within a…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I Evaluation and Reporting System is a method for giving a federally funded project in reading or math an overall score on its cognitive effectiveness. This System introduced the Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) as an aid in aggregating Title I program scores across states and nationwide regardless of…

To determine if the ethnocentric perceptions of students would be influenced by participation in a 3-week social studies unit on "The Contributions of Minority Ethnic Groups to American Civilization," a study was made utilizing 114 students in five 12th grade social studies classes (three experimental and two control). The investigation attempted…

To meet several pre-evaluation goals of the national Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA) Evaluation study, the following activities that were undertaken are described: selection of an achievement measure; a pretest of this measure to assess student needs in schools eligible to receive funds under the Act (schools with a minority enrollment of 50…

The Research Institute of the Illinois Institute of Technology conducted this study for the Cooperative Educational Research Lab., Inc. Emphasis was placed on determining the role of sociometric and diffusion analysis techniques in measuring the effectiveness of the Specialist in Continuing Education (SCE) function. Evidence was sought to…