This study investigated the delayed effects of LOGO programing on the cognitive abilities and achievement of children in the primary grades. Results of tests administered 18 months after first graders participated in either LOGO computer programing or computer-assisted instruction treatments and interviews five months after testing are reported…

The use of national achievement tests in schools can result in varying degrees of curricular match/mismatch with respect to local curricula. This article explores the types of mismatch which can occur, discusses the inferences made from test scores and their importance, and addresses some implications for the educational community. (EGS)

Beginning teachers in Florida were surveyed as to the weight they assigned to the results of teacher-made tests, district-wide standardized tests, and statewide minimum competency assessment tests in making major educational decisions. The results suggested that greatest weight was placed on the statewide assessment tests. (Author/GDC)

Research suggests that special tests of reasoning ability are superfluous. Reading comprehension and algebra scores on common aptitude and achievement tests are highly correlated with scores on several reasoning tests. Furthermore, three programs in reasoning skills have been shown to improve reading comprehension scores in various settings. (MCG)

Current testing standards call for test developers to provide evidence that testing procedures and test scores, and the inferences made based on the test scores, show evidence of validity and are comparable across subpopulations (American Educational Research Association [AERA], American Psychological Association [APA], & National Council on…

Model checking is a crucial part of any statistical analysis. As educators tie models for testing to cognitive theory of the domains, there is a natural tendency to represent participant proficiencies with latent variables representing the presence or absence of the knowledge, skills, and proficiencies to be tested (Mislevy, Almond, Yan, &…

The purpose of this study was to screen for gender-based (female-male) and ethnic-based (Hispanic-White) differential item functioning (DIF) in the 2003 Idaho Standards Achievement Tests of reading, language arts and mathematics at grades 4, 8 and 10. The vendor, the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), assembled the computer-administered…

Recently Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) completed a project to connect the scale of the MEA with NWEA's RIT scale. Six Maine school systems participated in the study, using test information from a group of over 800 students enrolled in fourth and eighth grade who took both the MEA and NWEA reading and mathematics tests in the spring of…

This study was designed to answer two key questions about the fixed portions of the fourth, eighth, and tenth grade spring 2003 Idaho Standards Achievement Tests (ISAT) in Reading, Language Usage and Mathematics: (1) To what extent do test items exhibit substantive differences in functioning across student groups formed based on ethnicity and…

The process of designing and validating a test of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) speaking skills is described. The study examined: (1) whether nine traits (pronunciation, grammar, discourse, fluency, content, vocabulary, comprehensibility, interactional competence, sociolinguistic competence) are relevant and separable parts of speaking…

This bimonthly newsletter provides information about the progress of the Honor States Grant Program, a governor-led effort to improve college- and work-ready graduation rates. This issue explores science, technology, engineering, and math education (STEM), a priority for governors as they try to enhance workforce competitiveness in a global…

The original data strategy on which PISA was based suggested that, after the completion of the first three assessments in 2000, 2003 and 2006, the cycle would repeat itself with three-yearly assessments in the areas of reading, mathematics and science. However, in light of newly emerging policy priorities and the experience gained with PISA so…

The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) was developed through a collaborative partnership in 1999 and first implemented in all Alberta school authorities in the 2000/2001 school year. The goal of this program is to improve student learning and performance by fostering initiatives that reflect the unique needs and circumstances of each…

The President and the Department of Education have advocated national testing, but they have not really justified their use. Most educators argue for the importance of multiple assessments, rather than a single test of achievement with great impact on the future of a student and an educational system. Misuses of test results would plague national…

The 1998-99 school year marked the 19th year of statewide student testing under the Arizona Student Achievement Program. In this school year, students were tested using the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition (Stanford9). This test was administered to 593,872 Arizona students in grades 2 through 11 during the spring of 1999. Three subtests in…