Evidence of deficiencies in basic mathematical skills of beginning undergraduates has been documented worldwide. Many different theories have been set out as to why these declines in mathematical competency levels have occurred over time. One such theory is the widening access to higher education which has resulted in a less mathematically…

This paper studies a natural experiment due to an unusual change in the college admission policy at a Chinese university, which brought a large number of low-score students into several academic departments in the university. Exploiting large variations in peer characteristics and strong interactions among peer groups, the analysis finds that…

NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) results in mathematics and reading are based on representative samples of 1,100 to 2,300 public school students at grade 4 and 900 to 2,100 public school students at grade 8 in each participating urban district in 2013. Twenty-one urban districts participated in the 2013 assessments. The assessments…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), in partnership with the National Assessment Governing Board and the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), created the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) in 2002 to support the improvement of student achievement in the nation's large urban districts. The TUDA focuses attention on…

In Brazil, the mean of math test scores for students of the fourth grade declined by approximately 0.2 standard deviation in the late 1990s. However, the potential changes in the distribution of scores have never been addressed. It is unclear if the decline was caused by deterioration in student performance levels at the upper and/or lower tails…

We use a natural experiment to show that the presence of an external examiner has both a direct and an indirect negative effect on the performance of monitored classes in standardized educational tests. The direct effect is the difference in the test performance between classes of the same school with and without external examiners. The indirect…

Over the past few months, news about the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) has made national headlines and not in a good way: "Large SAT Score Decline Shows Failure of No Child Left Behind and State High-Stakes Testing Strategy" (FairTest 2011); "Eshaghoff, Emory University Student, Allegedly Took SAT For Other Students" (Huffington Post 2011); and…

This study examines factors contributing to the poor academic performance of tenth grade high school students. Throughout my eight years teaching experience at this grade-level, the one constant from class to class and year-to year is the academic decline. This decline typically starts at the end of ninth grade, becomes obvious and serious in…

This paper profiles Arkansas's test score trends through 2008-09. Between 2005 and 2009, the percentages of students reaching the proficient level on the state test and the basic level on NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) went up in math at grades 4 and 8. In reading, the percentages scoring proficient on the state test went up at…

This paper profiles Colorado's test score trends through 2008-09. Between 2005 and 2009, the percentages of students reaching the proficient level on the state test and the basic level on NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) increased in grades 4 and 8 in both reading and math. Average annual gains were generally larger on NAEP than…

This paper profiles Iowa's test score trends through 2008-09. Between 2005 and 2009, the percentages of students reaching the proficient level on the state test and the basic level on NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) increased in grade 4 reading and math and in grade 8 math. In grade 8 reading, the percentage of students reaching…

This paper profiles Louisiana's test score trends through 2008-09. Between 2005 and 2009, trends on state tests and NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) sometimes differed. On the state test, the percentages of students reaching the proficient level increased at grades 4 and 8 in both reading and math. On NAEP, the percentage of…

This paper profiles Tennessee's test score trends through 2008-09. Between 2005 and 2009, the percentages of students reaching the proficient level on the state test and the basic level on NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) increased in grade 8 reading and math. At grade 4, trends on the state test and NAEP differed somewhat. In…

This paper profiles Washington's test score trends through 2008-09. Between 2005 and 2009, the percentages of students reaching the proficient level on the state test and the basic level on NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) decreased in grade 4 reading. In grade 4 math, the percentage scoring proficient on the state test decreased…

This paper profiles Ohio's test score trends through 2008-09. Between 2005 and 2009, the percentages of students reaching the proficient level on the state test and the basic level on NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) increased in grade 4 reading and grade 8 math. In grade 8 reading, the percentage of students scoring proficient…