This study provides empirical evidence about the sampling variability and generalizability (reliability) of a statewide performance assessment for grade six. Results for 600 students at individual and school levels indicate that task-sampling variability was the major source of measurement error. Rater-sampling variability was negligible. (SLD)

The development of a new national policy on achievement testing and how researchers sought to influence its development are chronicled. This development has been marked by the emergence of assessment advocates and educational researchers as two classes of assessment experts. Their differential effects on educational reform are explored. (SLD)

Examines how reading ability relates to course performance in an introductory developmental psychology course. Compares personalized system of instruction (PSI) to contingency managed lecture (CML) sections. Shows previous academic performance best predicted final examination scores for CML students while reading comprehension best predicted PSI…

Describes the Academic Program Assessment Model adopted by Bethany College in 1990. The multidimensional model has provisions for curricular and cocurricular review, testing, surveys, faculty development, and curriculum monitoring strategies. (DMM)

The relationship between a kindergarten screening battery (KSB) and scores on the Stanford Achievement Test was studied as a function of race for 519 white and 183 Native American students in kindergarten through grade 4. Prediction of the child's achievement test scores is more accurate when race is considered. (SLD)

This study of 95 hearing-impaired adolescents found that students' communication ease made a significant contribution to the prediction of 3 standardized achievement test scores, as well as teacher-assigned grades. Engagement (the extent to which students report being excited and involved in the classroom) predicted grades but not achievement test…

Presents brief history, written for school counselors, on entrance examinations used in college and university admission procedures, noting use of such examinations as early as fourteenth century. Discusses College Entrance Examination Board, Scholastic Aptitude Test, multiple-choice versus essay tests, score distributions, American College…

Examines and debunks 12 myths about U.S. education, including misconceptions concerning students' intelligence and thinking abilities, Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, the educational funding/outcome relationship, top-heavy educational bureaucracies and overexpenditures, declining mathematical and scientific competitiveness and workplace…

Longitudinal data from 104 children administered the Slingerland Procedures in kindergarten and achievement tests in later grades found significant relationships between Slingerland measures and reading outcomes, with prediction varying across grades and according to the reading measure used. Listening contributed to reading comprehension but not…

This study developed concordant relationships between American College Testing Program and Scholastic Assessment Test scores for students taking both examinations between October 1994 and December 1996. Fourteen universities and two state education departments participated in the study. Text provides information on data collection, sample…

Describes the use of the Northwest Evaluation Association's Achievement Level Test for Reading as an assessment tool in an elementary school to measure student progress in reading. Discusses interpreting scores across grade levels; computerized versions; linking test items to new curriculum; reducing reading class size; and the role of technology.…

Reports the results of three statewide studies in Alaska, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, which show that a school library media program with a full-time library media specialist, support staff, and a strong computer network leads to higher student achievement as evidenced on standardized achievement tests. (LRW)

Evidence from test results of 3,604 sixth and seventh graders is provided for the generalizability and validity of the Quantitative Understanding: Amplifying Student Achievement and Reasoning (QUASAR) Cognitive Assessment Instrument, which is designed to measure program outcomes and growth in mathematics. (SLD)

The very mixed results of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study are difficult for most U.S. students and teachers to believe. Educators must change their beliefs about how children learn mathematics and how these subjects should be taught. Agreement about what constitutes effective teaching is needed. (Contains 24 references.) (MLH)

Compared results on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills to Texas (TAAS) score changes on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Texas fourth graders did improve significantly more on the NAEP mathematics test than their counterparts nationally, but this gain was smaller than their TAAS gains, and a similar gain was not seen…