Bucking a longstanding tradition of local control, the Idaho Legislature launched mandatory statewide standards in reading in 1999. The Idaho Reading Indicator now monitors the progress of early readers three times a year. Innovative local strategies to help struggling readers are described, and the importance of a systemic approach to reform and…

Suggests that knowledge of phonics before learning to read (which can be measured by a new inventory) is a good indicator of future success. (JM)

This study addressed concerns about the potential for differential gains in reading during the first 2 years of formal schooling (K-1) versus the next 2 years of schooling (1st-3rd grade). A multilevel piecewise regression with a node at spring 1st grade was used in order to define separate regressions for the two time periods. Empirical Bayes…

The Hawai'i State Assessment is an annual testing program that measures student progress on Hawai'i's reading, writing, and mathematics standards. This handbook provides all Department of Education personnel at the school, complex area, and state levels with information about participation in the Hawai'i State Reading and Mathematics Assessment…

The Reading First program was designed to help students in kindergarten through third grade develop stronger reading skills. This report examines the implementation of the Reading First program, including: (1) changes that have occurred to reading instruction; (2) criteria states have used to award sub-grants to districts, and the difficulties, if…

This manual has been prepared for all New Mexico Statewide Assessment Program (NMSAP) assessment administrators, teachers, school specialists, and principals. It includes information about the following topics: PED contacts, New Mexico Standards Based Assessments (SBA), Grades 3-8 and 11; New Mexico High School Competency Examination (NMHSCE);…

Background: Childhood overweight is a condition that is prevalent within our society, affecting more and more children each year. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between child overweight and educational outcomes. Methods: Data are reported for 13,680 children in third grade from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, a…

Objective: This study investigates how the academic skills of children diagnosed with ADHD are perceived by teachers, parents, and the children themselves. Method: The authors analyze data collected for third graders in spring 2002 in the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey. They use linear regressions to estimate…

Eighty-five fourth- and eighth-grade learning disabled students whose individualized education plans specified untimed achievement testing were tested with the Reading Comprehension subtest of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, either according to the publisher's 40-minute time limit or with an extended time limit of 2 hours, 30 minutes. Results were…

Beginning in 1972, the average Scholastic Aptitude Test Verbal (SAT-V) score for men has been higher than that for women. This study created a detailed history of the content of SAT-V sections over the last two and a half decades and examined the changes of test content and trends over time in the balance of references to and representations of…

A vocabulary improvement project, comprised of three components, was initiated at Del Mar College (DMC) in Corpus Christi, Texas, in spring 1991. Component 1 consisted of a baseline study of vocabulary knowledge among students in two levels of remedial reading classes. The test instrument measured content-specific vocabulary in English/literature,…

The American College Testing Program is developing a new program, Work Keys, a system to develop and assess employability skills. It consists of four components: (1) a systematic process for profiling job skill requirements; (2) assessments that measure learners' job skill levels; (3) procedures and formats for conveying assessment results so they…

Designed to provide information to articulation planners and present an indicator of total enrollment, this report presents data on the flow of students from Hart Union High School District to College of the Canyons (CoC), in California. The first section provides data for 1990-91 and 1991-92 on the number of Hart graduates and the percent by…

Three expert panels reviewed the 1991 Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) reading test. This was the first year of an assessment program designed to measure school progress toward, among other content areas, three reading outcomes: reading for literary experience, reading to become informed, and reading to perform a task. The…

This paper presents six chapters that describe how statewide reading assessment is currently being performed and how the data are being used. The validity of statewide reading assessment instruments and the appropriate uses of statewide reading assessment data are explored. Several chapters discuss new ways in which some states conduct reading…