The current study used three data sources to estimate time requirements for different item types on the now current SAT Reasoning Test™. First, we estimated times from a computer-adaptive version of the SAT® (SAT CAT) that automatically recorded item times. Second, we observed students as they answered SAT questions under strict time limits and…

This study took an experimental approach to evaluating test speededness. In order to assess the benefits of extra time (or the penalty of strict time limits) on new SAT scores, sections that were designed to be administered with a 25-minute time limit were administered with a 40-minute time limit (or slightly more than time and a half) as part of…

This study was designed to address two frequent criticisms of the SAT essay--that essay length is the best predictor of scores, and that there is an advantage in using more "sophisticated" examples as opposed to personal experience. The study was based on 2,820 essays from the first three administrations of the new SAT. Each essay was…

In this high-accountability era--one in which there is an expanding movement to condemn teachers for the failures of their schools--teachers teach students who believe writing is primarily an act of complying to a prompt, likely for a state accountability assessment or the troubling 25-minute essay that constitutes less than half of the writing…

The purpose of this study was to learn whether there have been any changes in writing instruction across K-12 education in the past three years. A three-year time frame was chosen to structure the study as it included the time period subsequent to the College Board's first announcement of the SAT writing section (the 2002-03 academic year). The…

This study evaluated (1) whether essay placement (either at the beginning or at the end of the test battery) impacts test-takers' performance on the critical reading, mathematics, and writing multiple choice measures; and (2) whether essay prompt type (either a simple one-line prompt or a prompt including a short passage) affects test-takers'…

This "Report Card to the Public, a Summary of Statistics from Alaska's Schools," is published in accordance with Alaska Statute 14.03.120 for the school year 2006-2007. This publication reports the status of public education in Alaska. It is a source of information for Alaska's educational policymakers, including legislators, the…

This study examined the SAT® II: Writing Subject Test as a predictor of writing performance in college English courses. Writing performance was based on eight writing samples submitted as part of regular course work by students in eight colleges. The samples consisted of drafts and final papers submitted in response to four take-home writing…

This "Report Card to the Public, a Summary of Statistics from Alaska's Public Schools," is published in accordance with Alaska Statute 14.03.120 for the school year 2005-2006. This publication reports the status of public education in Alaska. It is a source of information for Alaska's educational policymakers, including legislators, the…

In this article we examine student performance on mandated tests in grades 3, 4, and 5 in one state. We focus on this interval, which w e term "the fourth grade window," based on our hypothesis that students in grade four are particularly vulnerable to decrements in achievement. The national focus on the third grade as the critical…

This annotated bibliography is intended to help teachers of composition improve writing quality of entering college students. The main body of the report is preceded by a brief summary of sources for faculty interested in examining the causes attributed to the decline in college students' writing skills, including: "National Assessment and the…

Convergent validity and divergent validity were studied in several basic skill areas using the multitrait-multimethod procedure outlined by D. T. Campbell and D. W. Fiske (1959). The academic skill domains considered were: (1) reading; (2) mathematics; (3) writing and language arts; and (4) spelling. A total of 297 students in grades 1 through 5…