This publication contains Arizona public schools' academic standards for grade 6. The contents of this document include the following: (1) The Arts Standard 2006--Grade 6; (2) Comprehensive Health Education/Physical Activity Standards 1997--Essentials (Grades 4-8); (3) Foreign and Native Language Standards 1997--Essentials (Grades 4-8); (4)…

This descriptive, quantitative study examined the effects of participation in a 1-year Early Start Preschool Program for 4-year-olds in a state that requires annual testing at the end of select grades. This study focused primarily on achievement through grade 3. As no study has evaluated the effectiveness of the program, this research examined…

In March 1997, all State, Territory and Commonwealth education ministers agreed on the national goal: that every child leaving primary school should be numerate and able to read, write and spell at an appropriate level. To provide focus for this goal, ministers also agreed to a sub-goal: that every child commencing school from 1998 will achieve a…

This revised report presents a look at national and state-level findings of students' overall proficiency in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1994 reading assessment for grades 4, 8, and 12 and provides comparisons with the performance of their 1992 counterparts. The first chapter introduces the report, discussing topics such…

During the 1989-90 school year, Tennessee established Project Challenge in 17 of Tennessee's poor and educationally low-performing counties. The program applied the results of Project STAR, a longitudinal experiment causally linking class size to student achievement. This paper presents findings of a study that evaluated Project Challenge by…

Noting that the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress used a variety of innovative assessment approaches, this executive summary discusses a number of issues related to the new reading assessment framework. An introductory section of the executive summary discusses the new framework for reading assessment, the transition in reporting…

A study determined the impact of a literacy program including social cooperative literacy experiences on literacy achievement of first-, second-, and third-grade children. Treatment in the experimental groups, which consisted of 204 children from 3 first-, 3 second-, and 3 third-grade urban classrooms included designing classroom literacy centers,…

A strategy is proposed for combining scores from multiple-choice achievement measures with performance assessments. The specific situation discussed involves the revision of a curriculum-based multiple-choice and performance assessment testing program for grades 1 through 6 for a large school district. Reading, language-arts, and mathematics…

Noting that reading instruction in the last years of the 20th century is still characterized by controversy, this book presents 18 essays that examine the best available research evidence about what is known--and what needs to be learned--about the teaching of reading and how children learn to read. Topics of the essays include whole language,…

A study evaluated the effectiveness of a portfolio strategy to assess reading in the early primary grades. For a 12-week period, college students implemented portfolio assessment as they completed their reading block field experiences as part of their literacy/reading methods courses. Data included the portfolios, teacher surveys, journals of the…

This report discusses various methodological issues confronted in the Reading Literacy Study conducted under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and issues relating to analysis of the data. The study analyzed in the report involved fourth- and ninth-grade students (9-year-olds and…

This report presents a first look at national and state-level findings of students' overall proficiency in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1994 reading assessment for grades 4, 8, and 12 and provides comparisons with the performance of their 1992 counterparts. The first chapter introduces the report, discussing topics such…

A study explored the ways information about first-grade children's uses of literacy at home might inform school-based assessment of children's literacy knowledge. Subjects, 10 families (all Caucasian) in a small suburban community of white-collar professionals and administrators and 14 families (Caucasian, Latino, and African-American) in a large…

This digest investigates seven of the most prevalent and damaging myths about literacy in the United States. In response to various claims about American elementary and secondary students' test score declines in reading achievement, the author interprets data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the International…

While it is important to improve the outcomes of bilingual and English-only reading instruction for English language learners at all grade levels, there is a particular need to see that students are successful in beginning to read in the early elementary grades. One program that has achieved a great deal of success in meeting this goal is called…