Independent schools are, for the most part, exempt from mandatory participation in standardized tests designed for state and federal comparisons, nor are they required to take part in comparative international assessments. The anxiety in the broader culture, however, is driving a growing interest among independent school parents (and prospective…

Teachers spend most of their time in school in classrooms, and their instruction and teaching practices may be affected by classroom context such as class size. We examine whether teacher effects interact with classroom context such as class size. Specifically, we seek to determine whether teacher effects are more pronounced in small classes than…

The aim of the National Numeracy Strategy is to raise standards in numeracy. Strong evidence for its success has, however, been lacking: most of the available data come from performance on National Test assessments administered in schools or from Ofsted reports, and is vulnerable to suggestions of bias. An opportunistic analysis of data from a…

The relationships between the Gesell School Readiness Test and standarized achievement and intelligence measures were examined. Children were tested before kindergarten, at the end of kindergarten, and at the end of first grade. Correlation coefficients varied from grade to grade, but did not show a higher correlation between related measures.…

An analytical procedure that uses fall kindergarten assessment data to retroactively create equivalent comparison groups for longitudinal research and evaluation studies was designed and tested, and then analytically and empirically compared with random assignment to treatment. Students entering kindergarten in Hawaii are administered the Peabody…

The predictive validity of the Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students (SRBCSS) in identifying gifted children among various sociocultural groups was examined. Regression analyses were computed between the SRBCSS and both the Standard Achievement Test and a standardized intelligence test. Implications for practice and…

Describes Suinn Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale, Elementary Form (MARS-E) with sample of 105 Hispanic students. Correlating MARS-E scores with mathematics scores on Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) shows similarities in mathematics anxiety between Hispanics and normative non-Hispanics but Hispanics scored lower on SAT. Recommends additional…

Recent test results reveal that the test score decline has ended, but the legacy of this highly publicized educational episode continues. One widespread interpretation of the decline and recovery is that permissiveness and a collapse of standards in the late 1960s led to the decline and that a return to the basics and to tougher standards caused…

As a result of the Educational Reform Act in 1982, the Mississippi State Board of Education adopted accreditation levels from 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest level. In 1988, 17 school districts were assigned to the Level 1 status by the Commission on School Accreditation, based on results of the following performance standards: Basic Skills…

The relationship between a kindergarten screening battery (KSB) and scores on the Stanford Achievement Test was studied as a function of race for 519 white and 183 Native American students in kindergarten through grade 4. Prediction of the child's achievement test scores is more accurate when race is considered. (SLD)

The advantages of computerized adaptive testing are discussed, and an example illustrates its use in sixth grade mathematics. These tests are administered at a computer terminal, and the test items to be administered are selected according to the difficulty level appropriate to the individual's ability. Tailoring increases the psychometric…

How two students with the same number-correct score, calculated by dramatically different patterns of responses, can achieve the same ability estimate is demonstrated. The present study investigated the incidence of person misfit to the model in a nationally standardized test of achievement devised using the Rasch item response theory model. It…

The extent to which national performance on an achievement test battery changed over a 4-year period was studied, and the comparative performance of students in school districts taking the test series for the first time was compared with that of students in districts that had used the battery at least once in one or more grades. The seventh…

Information is provided for educators and the general public about the performance of students on the standardized tests administered in 1990 as part of the South Carolina Norm-Referenced Testing (SCNRT) Program. The first section of this report provides background information necessary for interpretation of the results. The second section reports…

This study assessed whether or not classroom-based micro-computer applications can help improve students' performance on standardized tests, and which subject areas such programs are most effective in for fourth graders in two Mississippi schools. The Teaching and Learning with Computers (TLC) program placed a local area network in the school with…