The Cognitive Science Laboratory of the University of Southern California has conducted a series of studies on the experimental effects of motivation on a low-stakes (to the student) standardized test. This report summarizes these studies and their results. The test in question is the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). A series of…

This study was conducted to determine the degree to which children's perceived self-esteem is related to their overall academic achievement as measured by their performance on a standardized achievement test battery. Specifically, the study sought to determine the dimensions of perceived self-esteem that would be most clearly associated with…

In 1990, the Kentucky legislature established the Education Professional Standards Board as part of a systemic program of educational improvement. This report was commissioned to facilitate discussions about how best to configure certification requirements and related professional development activities. The first three sections identify, review,…

In an effort to determine which factors most consistently identified incoming at-risk students, Prince George's Community College (PGCC), in Maryland, conducted a longitudinal study of fall 1990 entering freshmen without previous college experience. After dividing the cohort into at-risk categories (e.g., age, study load, racial background,…

In August of 1991, the Colchester (Vermont) Board of Education and the Colchester Education Association (CEA) jointly initiated a Teacher Evaluation Study Committee. The group assumed responsibility for producing a revised teacher evaluation model which would positively impact the district's teaching and learning process. During school year…

The evaluation of professional support personnel (PSP)--counselors, school psychologists, nurses, curriculum specialists, library/media specialists, deans, and athletic directors--has received scant attention among researchers, theorists, and practicing administrators. This situation may reflect the inadequate tools for counselor and PSP…

While college faculty are experts in their disciplines, teaching expertise is less understood. This paper explores one aspect of the pedagogical content knowledge of faculty new to teaching, specifically, knowledge of student difficulties. The project, conducted at three different institutions, used a case method, employing interviews and…

A study of post degree elementary interns at the University of Saskatchewan (Canada) (N=25) was conducted to determine the main sources of information they employed in decision making related to teaching and relationships in the school. The study focused on: (1) the extent to which interns used the knowledge base gained from education classes in…

This study developed a classification scheme to critically compare performance assessment projects at higher education universities in North America and Europe. Performance indicators and assessment initiatives were compared using nine basic dimensions: (1) locus of control, (2) degree of governmental involvement, (3) focus of performance…

A study examined student outcomes at those schools and colleges that filed reports with the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools/Colleges of Technology during the 1990, 1991, and 1992 school years. The study focused on the following rates calculated separately for full- and part-time students: graduation, withdrawal, training-related…

The fifth-grade and eighth-grade science items on a state performance assessment were compared for differential item functioning (DIF) due to gender. The grade 5 sample consisted of 8,539 females and 8,029 males and the grade 8 sample consisted of 7,477 females and 7,891 males. A total of 30 fifth grade items and 26 eighth grade items were…

This study examined the attitudes of State Higher Education Finance Officers (SHEFOs) in regard to performance budgeting and performance funding of public higher education. A telephone survey of all 50 SHEFOs or alternate officers was conducted in June 1998, and the results were then compared to a similar survey conducted in April 1997. It was…

Modeling outcomes of school, hospital, or country performance as a consequence of initial conditions and assessing the entity's actual performance relative to what the model predicts (i.e., constructing a regression residual) is a natural way to measure performance. The usefulness of residual-based measures of performance depends on their…

This study examined the hypothesis that academic achievement affects different components of self-concept. Also investigated was the possible influence of nationality in modifying the relationship between academic achievement and self-concept, by comparing Slovenian and French subjects. The findings of two-factor (academic achievement x…

Any explanation of the absence of African Americans from the workforce in positions requiring mathematics usually begins with an acknowledgment of black underachievement in mathematics from the early grades and continuing throughout secondary schooling. Yet there are those among this group that are successful in studying mathematics. This paper…