The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a worldwide research project involving schools and students in over 79 countries. It is run by the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development], takes place every three years, and is designed to examine how 15-year-olds can apply what they have learned in school to real…

After an introduction that briefly describes the two studies on which this article is based, we provide background information on Mexico's education system and the sociopolitical context of the country, and we explain relevant issues of this context for education, arising from the transition from an authoritarian to a democratic political system,…

A nonexperimental design was used to determine whether the verbal scores of low-income gifted fifth graders (n = 38) differed from those of their higher income peers (n = 83). The Otis-Lennon School Ability Test, Eighth Edition and the Stanford Achievement Test-Tenth Edition were used to collect student data. Results of a MANOVA showed a…

The present research focuses on the psychometric properties of the Birthday Party measure for ages 3-5. The Birthday Party was developed to provide a reliable, valid, and engaging measure of early mathematical content--Number and Operation, Shape, Space, and Pattern--that can be given in either a short or a long form to English and Spanish…

With ongoing concerns about environments that push teachers toward increasingly structured assessments, thus reducing opportunities to observe young learners' mathematical capabilities, the publication of this special issue on formative assessment is especially significant and timely. The articles illustrate how we cannot rely solely on…

Students' science-related career expectations are important for predicting their future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related educational and occupational attainments. This study examines the degree to which standards-based external examinations are associated with a student's propensity for pursuing science-related…

The sample of this study consisted of 1,077 eighth grade students and 442 eighth grade teachers from nine states--Alabama, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and North Carolina during the TIMSS 2011 study. The instrument used to measure student and teacher self-efficacy, student task value, and teacher…

Prior research demonstrates the existence of gender achievement gaps and the variation in the magnitude of these gaps across states. This paper characterizes the extent to which the variation of gender achievement gaps on standardized tests across the United States can be explained by differing state accountability test formats. A comprehensive…

Eighth grade math students must pass a standards based test to be promoted to the next grade. Students who were at risk of failing the state's annual test faced impending retention. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to see if an intensive nine-week (55 min per day) remedial Math Connection (MC) class for 67 suburban, eighth grade…

The purpose of this causal comparative study was to test the theory of assessment that relates benchmark assessments to the Georgia middle grades science Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) percentages, controlling for schools who do not administer benchmark assessments versus schools who do administer benchmark assessments for all middle…

The nature of federal and state policies regarding accountability testing narrows the taught curriculum to content tested, thereby changing what is officially valued as student learning. The over-emphasis on standardized test scores has narrowed the curriculum to content that is tested (Amrein&Berliner, 2002; Baker, 2008; Herman, 2008;…

Expectancy-value theory (EVT) proposes that students' appraisals of success expectancy and task value are the main drivers of their study and career choices. Dimensional comparison theory proposes that these beliefs are themselves affected by students comparing their ability across different domains. However, only a few studies have aimed to…

Education has faced unprecedented disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic; evidence about the subsequent effect on children is of crucial importance. We use data from an oral reading fluency (ORF) assessment--a rapid assessment taking only a few minutes that measures a fundamental reading skill--to examine COVID's effects on children's reading…

Since March 2020, COVID-19 has required the implementation of remote learning options in K-12 public schools across North Carolina, ranging from fully online classroom experiences to hybrid scenarios in which students attend school both in person and remotely. In some locales, students continue to attend school in person most of the time, but with…

The measurement of self-regulation in young children has been a topic of great interest as researchers and practitioners work to help ensure that children have the skills they need to succeed as they start school. The present study examined how a revised version of a commonly used measure of behavioral self-regulation, the…