Because schools often do not begin formal processes to identify students with gifts and talents until the third grade, many kindergarten through second-grade teachers face challenges in identifying and meeting the needs of these learners. We examined gifted education plans from a sample of seven districts in and around the Charlotte, North…

The All Day Kindergarten (ADK) program was established in five schools within the Wichita (Kansas) Public School System during the 1988-89 school year. The goal was to establish a full-day balanced readiness program that would enhance skill building in the cognitive, social/emotional, and motor development areas. A formative evaluation was…

This study addresses two questions: (1) Why do fourth grade students in Rhode Island perform better on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) than eighth grade students?, and (2) Why do Rhode Island parochial students perform better on the ITBS than public school students? The examination of both questions focused on three areas: school setting…

Academic performance of K-12 students in North America could be improved in that the majority of students produce undistinguished results in every international assessment of academic proficiency. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether student's self-discipline and parental involvement in student's academic activities have any impact…

Multiple predictors of academic outcomes in children have been identified and studied including gender, level of parental support, family structure, and age. Though the concepts of self-concept, self-esteem, and teacher perception of the student-teacher relationship have been studied in depth, their study as predictors of academic outcomes,…

Teacher testing-related attitudes and practices related to court-ordered achievement testing were studied through a mail survey completed by 79 elementary school teachers in a midwestern urban district. Teachers engaged in a large number of test preparation practices and reported finding minimal value in purpose or results of testing. (SLD)

The Austin Independent School District (AISD) adopted a new and more specific policy about elementary student retention in the 1981-82 school year. Students will be at least 1 year behind in their reading levels at grades 1 through 6 and/or 1 year behind in mathematics competencies at grades 4 through 6 to be considered for retention. Within the…

Teacher perceptions of standardized achievement test items, drawn mainly from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), as possibly favoring black or white pupils was investigated. Teacher' ratings were compared across race of raters, black and white; item types; favoring blacks and favoring whites; and six subtests. Ratings were also compared with…

A new elementary retention policy was implemented in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in 1981-82. The AISD Board of Trustees requested a three-year study of the impact and effectiveness of the policy. This report describes results from the second year of the study, including the effect of the change in policy on staff development,…

Twelve schools with higher reading levels than expected, on the basis of family incomes, were examined on 67 variables. Results indicated that schools achieving higher than expected were smaller, had lower pupil mobility, had teachers with more structured methods, and had principals and students with more positive reading attitudes. (JAZ)

The effect of computer assisted instruction (CAI) in Kansas City, Missouri Schools on selected achievement measures and perceptions about the CAI experience collected from students, teachers, and CAI lab aides was examined. At the secondary school level, the evaluation examined the effects of CAI mathematics and social studies lessons on eighth…

In 1999, Colorado's Denver Public schools initiated the Pay for Performance pilot, which links teacher compensation to student achievement. Researchers examined its impact on achievement by comparing three measures of student achievement across pilot and control schools; teacher objectives; school, teacher, and student factors which impact…

In certain situations, grade equivalent scores are the most appropriate statistic available for reporting achievement test data. It is noted that testing practitioners have found that raw scores, normal curve equivalents, stanines, and standard scores are very useful. However, it is best to convert to either grade equivalents or percentiles before…

Project Basic Effective Strategies for Teaching (BEST) is a long-range three-year staff development program designed to provide teachers and administrators in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District with a common language and instructional plan. It is applicable to all subject areas and at all grade levels. This document contains the final…

During the course of a large-scale study of teacher preparation for standardized tests in two low-stakes school districts, the question of whether the attitudes of teachers about standardized tests are a factor in their administration of mandated standardized tests in the classroom was addressed. Third-, fourth-, and sixth-grade teachers (n=178)…