Proponents of standards-based reform claim that student achievement testing increases accountability and allows for greater instructional consistency. Performance across schools, boards, provinces, and even countries internationally can be compared and contrasted with the aim of identifying exemplary teaching practices. Teachers can also use…

A new report published by the Manhattan Institute for Education Policy, "The Effect of Special Education Vouchers on Public School Achievement: Evidence from Florida's McKay Scholarship Program," attempts to examine the complex issue of how competition introduced through school vouchers affects student outcomes in public schools. The…

This work presents the analysis of the 2001 Brazilian Basic Education Evaluation System (SAEB) achievement exam. The SAEB tested 4th, 8th, and 11th grade students, in mathematics and reading (Portuguese). We classified the students into seven socioeconomic classes, and for each class, compared the test results according to frequency of computer…

Patriot High School (PHS) adopted a remediation strategy to help its 10th-grade students at risk of failing the Math portion of MCAS, the state's end of year competency exam. The centerpiece of that strategy was a computer-based instructional (CBI) course. PHS used a commercially available CBI product to align the course content with the…

Now that all 50 states and the District of Columbia are building statewide longitudinal data systems, the next step is to ensure that the information in these systems is used to improve student learning. The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) has identified 10 actions that states can take to ensure that the right data are available and accessible and…

As student data analysis reports become more sophisticated, these reports reveal greater details on low performance skills. Availability of models and programs depicting detailed instructions or guidance for utilizing data to impact classroom instruction, in an effort to increase student achievement, has been lacking. This study examines the…

This book offers tutors in adult, further, and higher education materials for diagnosing students with specific learning disabilities (dyslexia). It provides information for setting up an appropriate individualized teaching program and making recommendations for supporting such students. Materials and methods can be used with students from basic…

This diagnostic assessment guide is designed to assist schools in developing their curriculum and assessment policies and help teachers in assessing individual pupils' understanding and progress and identifying appropriate next steps in a way which fits in with day to day teaching. Existing research and practice are applied within the context of…

This paper examines ways in which the teaching of critical thinking skills at the college level have been evaluated. It is noted that two problems exist in using validated tests for critical thinking: (1) intelligence tests do not address critical thinking in specific courses or fields of knowledge; and (2) validated tests are not designed to…

This paper discusses the conflict created by two trends in education--the push for a multicultural curriculum and for accountability. Proponents of multicultural education argue that national standardized tests fail to tap diverse students' knowledge and problem-solving abilities. Approaches for reframing the paradox--diverse assessment,…

InterGeo II, a project of the Commission on Geographical Education (CGE) of the International Geographical Union (IGU), has developed a broadly based, field-trialed testing instrument for making cross-national comparisons of achievement in geography. Field trials of InterGeo II were held in 23 countries. Data were analyzed for national achievement…

This paper examined the history and current issues in the evaluation of the education of Native students. Although public schools are the principal providers of services to Native students, most programs receive the greater part of their funding from the Federal Government and are subject to federal evaluation. Previous federal evaluation efforts…

Missing data for a given cohort of students in a longitudinal study occurs for at least two reasons: either the student has moved or otherwise become unavailable for testing, or the cohort was not in the testing range at a given testing time. A developmental sampling for time of testing x cohort x grade research plan of testing is used to…

In 1987, Santa Barbara City College, California, received a grant to develop valid and culturally fair assessment procedures for placing students into appropriate level courses. Specifically, the project sought to: (1) determine faculty and student perceptions of the skills needed to succeed in entry-level college classes; (2) examine the…

In 1989, a study was conducted of the mathematics assessment portion of the matriculation process at California's Saddleback College (SC). The two main purposes of the study were to examine student enrollment behavior in recommended mathematics courses as well as to compare the success rates of students who enrolled in the recommended courses with…