Uses a case study of Charleston, South Carolina, to analyze the new, more rational, legally defensible, durable forms of desegregation and discrimination that replaced caste arrangements in public education, focusing on the development and implications of high stakes tests for both teachers and students. (SM)

Argues that Herrnstein and Murray's "The Bell Curve" (1994) merely restates the notion that intelligence can be reduced to a single ordinal measure, i.e., the primary factor for determining group or individual social-class status. Evidence from the biological sciences and quantitative genetics is presented that reveals that social…

Explores the content of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and describes similarities between the ITBS and the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) standards. Addresses three NCSS standards and how each may be represented on a standardized test. Provides eight confidence-boosting principles. (CMK)

Students with disabilities are required by law to participate in state and district assessments and performance reports. High-stakes testing is a significant part of standards-based reform and educational accountability. There are many potential negative and positive consequences of high-stakes testing for students with disabilities. Educators…

Presents the American Educational Research Association's position on high-stakes educational testing, which stresses conditions essential to sound implementation of such testing, including: protection against high-stakes decisions based on single tests; adequate resources and opportunity to learn; validation for each intended use; alignment…

Examines language competence and reading comprehension of 7-year olds, focusing on the aims and content of Polish-language teaching in grades I-III. Discussion includes the development of Polish students compared to international standards; language task performance; gender and background influence on competence; and the relationship between…

Examined and analyzed critical features concerning school district size in Arkansas: standardized test scores, per-pupil expenditures, remediation rates, and students eligible for free and reduced-price meals. Data from a variety of sources do not reveal functional relationships between school district size and these variables. (SLD)

Standardized, norm-referenced measures of achievement, phonological processing measures, and curriculum-based measures of reading fluency were used with 40 children (Grades 1-2), including 20 children with reading disabilities. All measures were found to correlate significantly with each other; however, correlations were generally in the moderate…

Fournier, coordinator of the School Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP), claims that score differences are associated with linguistic and gender differences. These results have long been substantiated. The expectation-setting process has little reliability or validity. SAIP does not help teachers, and should not determine what students learn.…

Reviews notable education books: "The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager" (Thomas Hine); "The Big Test" (Nicholas Lemann); "The Educated Child" (William Bennett); "Lost Boys" (James Garbarino); "The Schools Our Children Deserve" (Alfie Kohn); "Ready or Not" (Kay Hymowitz); "High…

A study of 358 students at a western middle school examined academic, general, home, and social variables. Regarding self-esteem, girls viewed themselves more positively than boys in social experiences. Low achievers were not as satisfied with school facilities as high- and middle-achievers. (MLH)

Test accommodations are changes in standardized test conditions to equalize opportunities between students with or without disabilities by achieving valid scores. The Individuals with Disabilities Act 1997 amendments require states and districts to include disabled students in accountability programs. Assumptions, practical implications,…

Discusses a French immersion program in Louisiana, highlighting indications that students in the program are scoring higher on the state's mandated standardized tests than students in the district not participating in the program. Attempting to overcome deficits in language immersion research using testing and demographic data from a large sample…

Discusses disadvantages of standardized testing, particularly those associated with testing young children, and the problems they create for classroom teachers. Offers suggestions for coping with standardized testing in the curriculum and encourages educators to organize and take action in an effort to change educational policy. Outlines 14 ways…

Traces the history of reform in writing instruction and places it in the context of current educational reform initiatives. Examines the dilemmas teachers and teacher educators face as they balance their concern for maintaining and fostering what is known about the teaching and learning of writing with the growing focus on achievement on…