Research has demonstrated that in controlled experiments in which small groups are being tutored by researchers, reading-strategy instruction is highly effective in fostering reading comprehension (Palincsar & Brown, "Cognition and Instruction," 1(2), 117-175, 1984). It is unclear, however, whether reading-strategy interventions are…

Introduction: The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a standardized high-stakes test, which is used for the purpose of measuring the language proficiency of candidates who wish to study or work in an environment where English is the language of communication (IELTS introduction. Retrieved from…

BACKGROUND: Academic achievement is influenced by factors at the student, school, and community levels. We estimated the effect of cardiorespiratory fitness performance on academic performance at the school level in Georgia elementary schools and examined effect modification by sociodemographic factors. METHODS: This study is a repeat…

In the village of Pine lies Pine School. While the school has historically been considered a quality school, the proficiency levels in math MAAP assessments have been lower in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade than 6th grade, by a substantial margin. In this action research program evaluation study, a mixed-methods approach was utilized to discern the…

Although the vast majority of American parents believe their child is performing at or above grade level, in reality two-thirds of U.S. teenagers are ill-prepared for college when they leave high school. Why this enormous disconnect? Could it be that test scores signaling that kids are "less than proficient" don't register with parents…

In schools today, tests and curricula are primarily suited to the types of students who excel in mathematics and verbal reasoning. The missing factor in testing and education policy is the measurement, selection, and talent development of students with strengths in spatial reasoning. Spatial reasoning is defined as "the ability to generate,…

A quantitative ex post facto causal comparative research method was used to investigate and analyze the reading comprehension achievement of middle school Black male students in two middle schools. Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) reading scores of students in grades five, six, seven, and eight from school years 2006-2007,…

This study contrasted the standardized test scores of impoverished students who took secondary courses in a virtual setting with those of impoverished students who took secondary courses in a traditional brick-and-mortar setting in a selected school district in Florida. The selected school district is located on Florida's central eastern coast,…

Multiple-choice exams are frequently used as an efficient and objective method to assess learning, but they are more vulnerable to answer copying than tests based on open questions. Several statistical tests (known as indices in the literature) have been proposed to detect cheating; however, to the best of our knowledge, they all lack mathematical…

This brief is an update to "Making Assessments Work" and reports that the new Illinois Learning Standards make clear what students must know and be able to do at a time when college and career readiness matters more than ever. If we raise the bar for students, however, then we need better ways to answer the question that every parent…

Since the 2001 passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), test-based accountability has been an organizing principle--perhaps "the" organizing principle--of efforts to improve American schools. But lately, accountability has been under fire from many critics, including Common Core opponents and those calling for more multifaceted…

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), a set of US higher education institutions historically tasked with educating African-American students, receive both state and federal funding. However, state governments often assert operational control through the political process, potentially influencing how key resources are used. Do these…

This paper reports on the development of a system in which naturalistic inputs are collected by a web-based e-reader and, in combination with a measurement of readers' comprehension of that text, are analyzed by a neural network to determine the nature of the relationship between the annotations and comprehension. Results showed that neural…

Public education is commonly perceived as a social good endowed with the capacity to equalise western citizens' chance of 'success'. In 2008 Australia introduced standardised testing and reporting procedures to improve educational quality and equity through two policy tools (NAPLAN/MySchool). Ensuing public debate culminated in two Senate…

The study was designed to explore the problems of students during board examination regarding physical environment, management and conduction of exams, technical errors of boards and the solution of these problems. The sample of the study was 10 students from Intermediate program of education including F.A, F.Sc, I.Com and I.C.S. An interview…