A study involving all students taking the California Achievement Test (CAT) in the Cleveland City School District (Ohio) during the fall of 1989 was conducted to assess the effects of the use of parallel test forms. Each spring, all students in grades 4, 6, and 8 are selected to take the appropriate level of the CAT reading test, Form E. As a…

This study investigated whether alcohol use by public school students differs in its relationship to other variables when analyzed on the individual level versus the aggregated group level. The study presents a model and a set of analytic techniques for studying the ways that school and individual variables relate to adolescent alcohol abuse.…

A longitudinal comparative study was made of the physical growth and development of Australian fourth-grade students from low, medium, and high socioeconomic groups. Specific questions addressed were (1) Do children differing in socioeconomic status differ in anthropometric characteristics and incidence of physical defects? (2) What is the…

The authors begin their discussion with the Tanner and Tanner (1995) model of "Curricular Sources and Influences" to explain the development of the K-12 school curriculum. The model shows the school curriculum in the center of a circle. Around the circumference of the circle are political influences, social influences, economic…

The construct underlying simple paper-and-pencil logical operations tasks administered to young children in group settings was examined. The logical operations, number concepts, and visual discrimination subtests of the Early School Assessment (ESA) were administered as part of the Fall 1987 national tryout of the ESA. The mathematics concepts and…

This document comprises a report on the agreements reached at a symposium on early awareness of postsecondary education. Representatives from 30 education organizations discussed a national agenda for early awareness programs and explored opportunities for collaboration. Early awareness programs are broadly based efforts to introduce students in…

The purpose of this study was to develop a testing method for the assessment of various types of writing at the elementary school level that would meet acceptable standards for educational measurement instruments as well as standards of utility and feasibility within a given educational system. The study was conducted within the framework of an…

This study examined the differences between actual and predicted school achievement on a grade 5 standardized reading posttest. The primary objective was to identify which schools are performing above expectation on a posttest by examining multiple regression residuals and, concurrently, which school level variables are associated with that…

Project SOLID START is an integrated reading program involving regular classroom, special education, and reading teachers, and parent volunteers in the Melrose, Massachusetts public schools. SOLID START supports beginning literacy in a developmental, rather than a remedial, mode. The project tests the hypothesis that a carefully structured,…

Three measures of self-concept or self-esteem and one measure of social competency development, designed for young children, are assessed. The instruments assessed include: (1) the Martinek-Zaichkowski Self-Control Scale for Children (MZSCSC); (2) the Behavioral Academic Self-Esteem Scale (BASE); (3) the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale…

Federal legislation ensures that children with physical disabilities should not be denied access to the school library. These children have the same information needs as their peers, and they want equal access to information in the school library media center. To create an accessible and functional school library, many requirements and…

A teaching team leader and second grade teacher designed and implemented a 10-week practicum intervention meant to improve the inferential comprehension of 105 second graders whose reading scores on the Ginn Mastery Tests revealed a gap between inferential and literal comprehension. It was reasoned that the gap would decrease if teachers were…

In February 1989, statewide assessment tests in reading, mathematics, and writing were given to a sample of eighth graders throughout Oregon. The results and analyses of reading and mathematics assessments are presented. Important trends are described based on the analysis of data from 1985, 1987, and 1989. The 1989 information provides the first…

This publication on the New South Wales' Basic Skills Testing Program (BSTP) describes the development of the program's tests, the analysis of students' results, and the communication of results to parents, teachers, and schools. In BSTP tests, basic skills are defined not as low-level, rudimentary survival skills, but as major areas of learning…

This report summarizes an investigation of the relationship between public elementary school students' achievement in reading and study skills and several aspects of the library media program. Data were collected from a statewide survey of library media programs and personnel, district summaries of reading achievement scores for fourth and seventh…