This two-part study was done to investigate the effectiveness of the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) Transition Mathematics Program implemented by Lexington School District (South Carolina) during the 1993-94 school year. Results on four mathematics subtests of the Stanford Achievement Test, 8th Edition are considered in…

The principal purpose of this project was to find what, if any, early indicators exist to identify incoming students whose academic performance in high school would be high. The corollary objective was to consider what types of intervention strategies might be designed to assure that students so identified would fulfill their early promise. An…

The history of test coaching has shown that positive benefits can be produced from short-term orientation, practice, and drill. Coaching on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) has been especially scrutinized for efficacy and has shown modest program effects, despite the limited scope and duration of such programs. The present investigation expands…

The purposes of this study are: (1) to compare the results of linear, equipercentile, frequency estimation equipercentile and item response theory (IRT) true formula score equating; and (2) to investigate the feasibility of using IRT methods to equate new forms of the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test…

The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) was equated to the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) using item response theory (IRT) in a three-parameter logistic model. Estimated true formula score equating was used. Only the mathematical sections of the PSAT/NMSQT and SAT were used because the…

A study examined the general achievement and aptitude of prospective teachers at the University of Minnesota's College of Education. Test scores were examined over time, against majors in other professional schools in the same institution, as well as across different education majors. The specific variables investigated included subtests of the…

The importance of learning and study strategies in fostering academic achievement has generated a demand for assessing these behaviors. The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory-High School version (LASSI-HS) is one of the most popular of these assessment devices. This study analyzed the second order latent structure of the inventory, using a…

The effects of concern about price of college and student aptitude for college upon the tendencies of parents and students to change their preference for private colleges to public colleges at the application stage of the college selection process were examined through two surveys conducted by Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota. In one…

The purposes of this study were to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence as measured by the Emotional Intelligence Inventory (EQI) (M. Tapia and J. Burry-Stock, 1998) and intelligence as measured by the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT). Other comparisons included measures of verbal and mathematics scores on the Preliminary…

Mathematical problem solving has been the focus of much concern. This study investigated the relationship of various cognitive factors, attributions, and gender to the solution of mathematics problems by 100 high school seniors. The independent variables examined in this study included: (1) mathematics knowledge as measured by a score on the…

Maximum usefulness of information provided to teachers and program staff by the enhanced score reports of the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) depends on the development of aggregate skill reports; that is, reports that provide skill information aggregated across groups of students, such as grade level within…

Two experimental programs, designed to increase Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores of inner city, low achieving students by using computer-assisted SAT preparation, produced differing results. Forty volunteers from a nearby high school were assigned to two groups of 20 each--one experimental and one control group. The first program provided six…

More than half the minority group students who completed the 1988/89 Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) at Manhattanville College (New York) scored in the 90-95 percentile on tests of critical thinking, suggesting ability to do well in mathematics, science, and other studies. STEP comprises the following goals: (1) enable students to…

While the charge that standardized tests are biased is not new, critics (including feminists) recently have made accusations of gender bias. One argument for the superior performance of males on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT), the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), and the American…