Academic Achievement Test Scores Research Articles

Beyond Simple Mean Differences: Analysis of Sex Similarities and Differences in Academic Achievement With the Kaufman Tests of Educational Achievement, Third Edition

Simple mean differences summarized in meta-analyses do not always adequately describe sex similarities and differences. We investigated sex similarities and differences in academic achievement test scores during childhood and adolescence multiple ways based on composite and subtest scores from the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (Third edition) norming sample. Sex differences in means were investigated across achievement domains and ability levels. Test score variance and percentages of scores at different parts of score distributions were also compared across sex. The largest and most consistent sex differences were female advantages in writing tests: Larger advantages were found in more complex writing tasks. Females also showed consistent advantages in silent reading fluency. Males demonstrated advantages in math problem solving that emerged at the average ability level. Females were more likely to be high achievers in reading fluency and written expression, whereas males were more likely to be low achievers in reading fluency and aspects of writing, and very low achievers in word recognition, word recognition fluency, and reading vocabulary. Males were more likely to be high achievers in math problem solving. Analysis that goes beyond simple mean differences reveals important sex differences regarding academic achievement, and theories should account for overall patterns of academic achievement similarities and differences.

Dual discrepancy/consistency pattern of strengths and weaknesses method of specific learning disability identification: Classification accuracy when combining clinical judgment with assessment data

The Dual Discrepancy/Consistency (DD/C) pattern of strengths and weaknesses (PSW) method is the most prominent “other alternative research-based procedure” used to identify a specific learning disability (SLD). The DD/C method is intended to be used with multiple data sources, but no research has examined identification decision making using the DD/C PSW analysis of cognitive and academic achievement test scores with other assessment data (e.g., pre-referral intervention data, parent/teacher reports, observations, evaluation of exclusionary factors). This study used an experimental vignette methodology to investigate school psychologists' (N = 343) identification decision making using the DD/C method with multiple data sources. Results showed that school psychologist participants made highly accurate (97.50%) identification decisions when both cognitive and achievement test score patterns and other assessment data were clearly indicative of SLD, but that overall identification accuracy was only 65.60%. Participants made less accurate identification decisions when examining test score data that did not meet DD/C PSW criteria for SLD than when examining test score data that did. Participants made less accurate decisions when other assessment data (interpreted in conjunction with test scores) did not meet DD/C PSW criteria for SLD or were ambiguous than when they did. In addition, male school psychologists were less likely to make accurate identification decisions than female school psychologists, and participants who were Nationally Certified School Psychologists were less likely to make accurate identification decisions than those who were not. Last, more experience with DD/C resulted in less accurate identification decisions, and participants who made accurate decisions reported higher levels of confidence, although the effect size was negligible. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

28.4 Relationship Between Sluggish Cognitive Tempo, IQ and Academic Achievement Test Scores, and Academic Impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, and Elementary School Samples

Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) symptoms include spacey, staring, daydreaming, in own world, slow thinking and responding, sluggish, underactive, and drowsy. SCT has strong convergent and divergent validity. This study investigates correlations between SCT and IQ and academic functioning and determines if SCT is a significant independent predictor of academic functioning. The sample comprised 1443 children (6-16 years old); among those, there were 218 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 489 with ADHD-Combined, 187 with ADHD-Inattentive, and 549 elementary school students. All children had an IQ ≥80. Children were rated by their mothers on the Pediatric Behavior Scale (PBS), and children with ASD/ADHD were also rated by teachers. The PBS assesses SCT, ADHD, ODD and conduct disorders, anxiety, depression, somatic complaints, and cognitive and learning problems. Children in the ASD/ADHD sample were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT). Children in the elementary school sample were administered the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Digit Span, Coding, and Wide Range Achievement Test. Correlations between SCT and IQ (verbal, nonverbal, working memory, and processing speed) and reading, math, and written expression achievement scores were all negative, with a pattern of decreasing scores with increasing SCT. Correlations were small (r = –0.01 to –0.15) and nonsignificant, except for processing speed and timed math, but the explained variance for these was only 2%. In regression analysis, SCT was not a significant predictor of achievement scores or academic impairment ratings. The strongest predictors were IQ for achievement scores and mother and teacher ratings of cognitive impairment for mother and teacher academic impairment ratings, respectively (explained variance = 23%-63%; p < 0.0001). Mother and teacher inattention ratings predicted mother and teacher academic impairment ratings, respectively. Ratings of SCT, impulsivity, hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, and ODD and conduct disorder were nonsignificant. SCT was not an independent predictor of achievement scores or mother and teacher academic impairment ratings when other variables were controlled. Inattention is more strongly related to academic functioning than is SCT.

Relationship between sluggish cognitive tempo, IQ and academic achievement test scores, and academic impairment in autism, ADHD, and elementary school samples

ABSTRACT Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is of renewed interest. The relationship between SCT, IQ and achievement scores, and academic impairment ratings was investigated in 218 students with autism and 676 with ADHD (6–16 years) and 549 elementary school students (IQ ≥ 80). Mothers rated their children on the Pediatric Behavior Scale. Children in the autism/ADHD sample were also rated by teachers. Correlations between SCT and IQ and achievement scores (Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory, Processing Speed, reading, math, and written expression) were all negative and were nonsignificant in the total autism/ADHD and elementary school samples, except for small correlations with Processing Speed and a timed math test. In contrast, mother and teacher SCT ratings were significantly related to mother and teacher academic and cognitive impairment ratings. SCT was not a significant predictor of achievement scores or academic impairment ratings in regression analysis. The strongest predictor of achievement test scores was IQ, and the strongest predictors of academic impairment were mother and teacher cognitive impairment ratings. Teacher inattention ratings predicted teacher academic impairment ratings in autism/ADHD and mother inattention ratings predicted mother academic impairment ratings in elementary school children. Therefore, inattention was more predictive of academic functioning than was SCT. Research shows a weak link between SCT and processing speed (contrary to what is implied by the term sluggish cognitive tempo), and other neuropsychological test scores are not consistently associated with SCT. It remains to be determined if neuropsychological tests can be developed to measure and further our understanding of SCT.

Study protocol for testing the association between physical activity and academic outcomes utilizing a cluster-randomized trial

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend adolescents engaging in 60 min of physical activity (PA) every day. Students should spend at least 30 min being active while at school. However, schools rarely provide that much PA time for students. This paper describes the planned analyses for a study evaluating the relationships between PA (measured as average daily minutes of Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity [MVPA]) and educational outcomes of standardized test scores and classroom grades cross-sectionally in 4 th grade and longitudinally from 4 th to 5 th grade. Investigations of moderators (both student- and school-level), mediators, and potential dosage of average MVPA thresholds are outlined. To ensure a high level of variability in student PA, the Health Empowers You! program is implemented in a random sample of half of the participating schools. The intervention is designed to affect students’ PA behaviors and health outcomes (cardiorespiratory fitness, body mass index). Utilizing accelerometer data from students in participating schools, the relationship between PA and health and academic outcomes (academic achievement test scores, reading lexile, grades, attendance, and tardiness) is evaluated. A total of 4968 grade 4 students across 40 schools (20 receiving intervention) participated (75% participation rate), and this cohort is being tracked from grade 4 through grade 5. In addition, implementation process and fidelity data are gathered. Given that school closures in response to COVID-19 pre-maturely terminated Spring 5 th grade data collection, modifications to the original analysis plan are discussed throughout.

An Investigation on the Effect of STEM Practices on Sixth Grade Students’ Academic Achievement, Problem Solving Skills, and Attitudes towards STEM

This study aims to identify the effect of STEM practices, integrated into Science courses in 6th grades of middle schools, on students' academic achievement, problem-solving skills, their attitudes towards STEM, and their interest level of STEM fields. The population of the study consists of 6th-grade students enrolled in a middles school in the 2018-2019 academic year. During the research, Academic Achievement Test, STEM Attitude Scale, STEM Career Interest Survey, and Problem Solving Inventory were applied to experimental and control groups as pre and post-tests by quasi-experimental research design. In data analysis, a statistics package program was used. Results of the study showed that the Academic Achievement Test scores of experimental groups that received STEM practices were seen to be higher than that of the control group to which the constructivist approach was applied. The difference was observed to be meaningful. Also, when the post-test scores of the STEM Attitude Scale, STEM Career Interest Survey, and Problem Solving Inventory were compared, a meaningful difference was found between the experimental and control group.

The Effects of Different Kinds of Hands-on Modeling Activities on the Academic Achievement, Problem-Solving Skills, and Scientific Creativity of Prospective Science Teachers

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effectiveness of unstructured, semi-structured, structured hands-on modeling activities and traditional teaching methods in developing academic achievement, problem-solving skills, and scientific creativity in prospective science teachers in the subject of the human circulatory and respiratory systems. A pre-test–post-test quasi-experimental design was used to investigate the treatment effect. There were three experimental groups and a control group in a total of 88 prospective science teachers who were enrolled in the Department of Science Education. The Academic Achievement Test (AAT), Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI), and Scientific Creativity Scale (SCS) were applied as data collection tools. The researchers employed two-way ANOVA and ANCOVA to analyze the data. Results revealed that all modeling activities were effective in enhancing participants’ AAT scores when compared with those of the control group. In addition, unstructured modeling and semi-structured modeling activities were more effective than structured modeling activities in improving AAT scores. For the AAT retention test, unstructured and semi-structured modeling groups showed better performance than the structured modeling group and control group. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference in PSI scores of the participants in favor of unstructured and semi-structured modeling activities. Lastly, there was no statistically significant difference in SCS scores with the experimental groups and control group.

Meeting the World Health Organization Maternal Antenatal Care Guidelines Is Associated with Improved Early and Middle Childhood Cognition in Ethiopia

To assess the association between meeting the World Health Organization (WHO) maternal antenatal care attendance guidelines and early and middle childhood cognition among impoverished Ethiopian children. A total of 1914 impoverished Ethiopian children from the Young Lives longitudinal cohort study were included. Childhood cognition was assessed via the Cognitive Development Assessment (CDA) and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) at ages 4-5years; PPVT, Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), and Math Test at ages 7-8years; and PPVT, Math Test, and Reading Test at ages 11-12years. Linear regression models were used to examine the association between maternal antenatal care attendance and childhood academic achievement test scores. In the univariable analysis, children of mothers who received the WHO recommended 4+ antenatal care visits or received the WHO recommended first antenatal care visit during the first trimester scored higher on all academic achievement tests. In the multivariable analysis, children of mothers who received 4+ antenatal care visits scored significantly higher on the CDA at ages 4-5years and Math Test at ages 7-8years. Children of mothers who received antenatal care in the first trimester scored higher on the CDA at ages 4-5years and Math Test scores at ages 11-12years. Children of mothers who received both antenatal care in the first trimester and 4+ antenatal care visits scored significantly higher on the CDA at ages 4-5years and Math Test at both ages 7-8 and 11-12years. Children of mothers who received the WHO recommended number and timing of antenatal care visits had significantly higher academic achievement scores across multiple domains during early and middle childhood. Promotion of antenatal care visit attendance may improve cognition through middle childhood.

How Should We Blend? The Impact of Blending Social Networks on High School Students’ Achievement and Social Networking Behaviors

This study examines the effect of blended learning environment, where social networks are utilized to supplement or enrich classroom environment, on the academic achievement and social network usage behaviors of high school students. The study was carried out with a total of 104 students in 10th grade of a state high school in Istanbul. It involved one control and two experimental groups. The students in the first experimental group were obliged to use social networking which aimed at complementing the class environment. The social networking environment was presented to the students in the second experimental group with the purpose of enriching the class environment. Yet, participation to this networking was voluntary. For the control group, all activities were held in face-to-face classroom setting. A 24-item test was developed to measure students’ academic achievement and administered as pre- and post-test. In addition, all activities of students on the social network were recorded to measure their social networking behaviors, and these records were used to calculate total activity scores, and course-related activity scores. Academic achievement test scores of both experimental groups were found to be significantly higher than those of the control group. Another finding of the study is that, in the social network, total course related activity scores did not significantly differ between experimental groups. Findings indicate that using social networks to supplement or enrich classroom setting increases student achievement. This increment is higher when the social network is used to supplement classroom setting instead of using social network as enriching medium. Suggestions were also provided.

Large Cross-National Differences in Gene × Socioeconomic Status Interaction on Intelligence

A core hypothesis in developmental theory predicts that genetic influences on intelligence and academic achievement are suppressed under conditions of socioeconomic privation and more fully realized under conditions of socioeconomic advantage: a Gene × Childhood Socioeconomic Status (SES) interaction. Tests of this hypothesis have produced apparently inconsistent results. We performed a meta-analysis of tests of Gene × SES interaction on intelligence and academic-achievement test scores, allowing for stratification by nation (United States vs. non–United States), and we conducted rigorous tests for publication bias and between-studies heterogeneity. In U.S. studies, we found clear support for moderately sized Gene × SES effects. In studies from Western Europe and Australia, where social policies ensure more uniform access to high-quality education and health care, Gene × SES effects were zero or reversed.

Adolescent behavior and achievement, social capital, and the timing of geographic mobility.

This paper examines the relationship between geographic mobility and adolescent academic achievement and behavior problems. Specifically, it addresses how the effects of moving differ by age and how social capital moderates the impact of moving on children (aged 6 to 15). Children's behavior problems and academic achievement test scores were compared across four survey waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006) and matched to data from their mothers' reports from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. The findings indicate that the negative behavioral effects of geographic mobility on adolescents are most pronounced for individuals relocating to a new city, county, or state as opposed to those moving locally (i.e., within the same city). Furthermore, as suggested by a life-course perspective, the negative effects of moving on behavior problems decrease as children get older. The results also show that several social capital factors moderate the effects of moving on behavior but not achievement.

Intrauterine substance exposures and Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-II scores at 11 years of age

The goal of this study was to evaluate whether intrauterine exposure to cocaine, alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana was associated with unique variance in children's academic achievement test scores after controlling for other substance exposures and contextual variables. Academic achievement scores (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition (WIAT-II)) were collected from 119, low-income, urban 11-year-olds enrolled in a prospective longitudinal study of intrauterine cocaine exposure (IUCE). Newborn recruitment eligibility included >36 weeks gestational age, no neonatal intensive care, no intrauterine exposure to illicit drugs except cocaine or marijuana, and no evidence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Intrauterine substance exposures (cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, tobacco) were documented in the newborn period using biological assays and maternal self-report. Multivariate analyses evaluated the relationship of each intrauterine exposure and each WIAT-II score controlling for contextual variables and the other substance exposures. In secondary analyses, the Child Depression Inventory (CDI) was added to final models. Results indicate that neither IUCE nor intrauterine exposure to marijuana or tobacco was associated with lower WIAT-II scores in multivariable analyses. Intrauterine alcohol exposure predicted significant variance in Math Reasoning and Spelling scores, but inclusion of children's depressive symptoms attenuated the relationship. Lower maternal education and maternal US birth were also associated with lower WIAT-II scores. Our analyses indicate that among low-income, urban 11-year-olds without a diagnosis of FAS, intrauterine alcohol exposure was negatively associated with math and spelling achievement scores after controlling for other intrauterine substance exposures and contextual factors. That relationship in this sample was partially mediated by children's depressive symptoms, but we cannot establish whether these lower achievement scores precede or follow depressive symptoms. Our findings highlight that neurobehavioral studies evaluating a primary potential neuroteratogen should evaluate other associated intrauterine exposures and contextual factors.

Mental health matters in elementary school: first-grade screening predicts fourth grade achievement test scores

The objective of the study was to evaluate whether mental health problems identified through screens administered in first grade are related to poorer academic achievement test scores in the fourth grade. The government of Chile uses brief teacher- and parent-completed measures [Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-RR) and Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC-Cl)] to screen for mental health problems in about one-fifth of the country's elementary schools. In fourth grade, students take the national achievement tests (SIMCE) of language, mathematics and science. This study examined whether mental health problems identified through either or both screens predicted achievement test scores after controlling for student and family risk factors. A total of 17,252 students had complete first grade teacher forms and these were matched with fourth grade SIMCE data for 11,185 students, 7,903 of whom also had complete parent form data from the first grade. Students at risk on either the TOCA-RR or the PSC-Cl or both performed significantly worse on all SIMCE subtests. Even after controlling for covariates and adjusting for missing data, students with mental health problems on one screen in first grade had fourth grade achievement scores that were 14-18 points (~1/3 SD) lower than students screened as not at risk. Students at risk on both screens had scores that were on average 33 points lower than students at risk on either screen. Mental health problems in first grade were one of the strongest predictors of lower achievement test scores 3 years later, supporting the premise that for children mental health matters in the real world.

Increasing Finance, Improving Schools

Much debate from many political sides has ensued to raise attention to the struggle state legislatures face over school finance issues. This study examines the changes in academic achievement, before and after increases in funding occur, to show that money does matter. The uniqueness of this study is that it examines per pupil funding and academic achievement test scores, Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), not at the aggregated school district level, but at the neighborhood school level. Using data from Dallas County public schools, we are able to see that even within school districts, as resources increase, achievement improves.

Late intellectual and academic outcomes following traumatic brain injury sustained during early childhood

Although long-term neurological outcomes after traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained early in life are generally unfavorable, the effect of TBI on the development of academic competencies is unknown. The present study characterizes intelligence quotient (IQ) and academic outcomes an average of 5.7 years after injury in children who sustained moderate to severe TBI prior to 6 years of age. Twenty-three children who suffered inflicted or noninflicted TBI between the ages of 4 and 71 months were enrolled in a prospective, longitudinal cohort study. Their mean age at injury was 21 months; their mean age at assessment was 89 months. The authors used general linear modeling approaches to compare IQ and standardized academic achievement test scores from the TBI group and a community comparison group (21 children). Children who sustained early TBI scored significantly lower than children in the comparison group on intelligence tests and in the reading, mathematical, and language domains of achievement tests. Forty-eight percent of the TBI group had IQs below the 10th percentile. During the approximately 5-year follow-up period, longitudinal IQ testing revealed continuing deficits and no recovery of function. Both IQ and academic achievement test scores were significantly related to the number of intracranial lesions and the lowest postresuscitation Glasgow Coma Scale score but not to age at the time of injury. Nearly 50% of the TBI group failed a school grade and/or required placement in self-contained special education classrooms; the odds of unfavorable academic performance were 18 times higher for the TBI group than the comparison group. Traumatic brain injury sustained early in life has significant and persistent consequences for the development of intellectual and academic functions and deleterious effects on academic performance.

Analysis of WISC-III, Stanford-Binet:IV, and academic achievement test scores in children with autism.

Nonverbal IQs were greater than verbal IQs for young children (3-7 years of age) on the Stanford-Binet:IV (n = 53). However, WISC-III verbal and nonverbal IQs were similar for older children, 6-15 years of age (n = 63). Stanford-Binet:IV profiles were generally consistent for the low-IQ (< 80) and high-IQ (> or = 80) groups, with high scores on visual matching tests (Bead Memory and Quantitative Reasoning). The low- and high-WISC-III IQ groups both performed well relative to IQ on tests of lexical knowledge (Similarities, Information, and Vocabulary), but not on language comprehension and social reasoning (Comprehension). The low-IQ group did best on visuo-motor subtests (Object Assembly and Block Design), but the high-IQ group did not. The high-IQ group had significantly low scores on the Digit Span, Arithmetic, Coding, VMI, and WIAT Written Expression tests, suggesting attention and writing weaknesses.

Children With Adequate Academic Achievement Scores Referred for Evaluation of School Difficulties: Information Processing Deficiencies

Children (7-11 years old) with standardized academic achievement test scores in the normal range referred for evaluation of learning problems were compared to low-achieving children matched for age, sex, and nonverbal cognitive ability, and to children with no known history of learning difficulty matched for age, sex, and reading (all N = 65) on a battery of computerized tasks of nonverbal information processing. The normally achieving referred children performed similarly to the low-achieving group but worse than reading-matched nonreferred counterparts. These findings suggest that children who struggle in school yet perform adequately on standardized achievement measures can have heightened neurodevelopmental vulnerability. Implications are discussed with respect to the underlying substrate of learning disabilities, as well as their diagnosis, classification, and remediation.

Cognitive Effects of Lyme Disease in Children

To measure possible cognitive sequelae of Lyme disease (LD) within a pediatric population. Prospective, blinded, controlled study of cognitive skills in children who had been treated for LD. A children's hospital in an area endemic for LD. Forty-one children with strictly defined LD were compared with 14 control children who had subacute rheumatological diseases, and with 23 healthy sibling controls. Neuropsychologic measures were administered to each child to assess the following cognitive areas: IQ information processing speed, fine-motor dexterity, novel-problem solving and executive functioning, short-term and intermediate memory, and the ability to acquire new learning. Predisease and postdisease academic achievement test scores were also gathered. Impressions from parents concerning the disease's subsequent impact were also obtained. No differences between LD and control groups were found for any of the numerous neuropsychologic measures. Analyses also failed to show differences between LD patients grouped with respect to the presence or absence of known neurologic involvement, disease stage, duration of symptoms before therapy, or type of antibiotic treatment. No predisease versus post-disease difference in academic performance was found. No perceived long-term deterioration in cognitive, social, or personality areas was reported by parents. Children appropriately treated for LD have an excellent prognosis for unimpaired cognitive functioning.

Differential assortative mating found for academic and demographic variables as a function of time of assessment

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in spousal similarity that occur as a function of time of assessment and to assess the extent to which assortment is a function of initial versus "realized" similarity. Similarity for academic achievement test scores obtained when adults were in elementary and high-school grades was examined in approximately 170 couples. Similarity for occupational and educational traits achieved in adulthood and during marriage was also assessed. The data suggest small but significant assortative mating for test data obtained while husbands and wives were in elementary school. This is in contrast to the larger and significant spousal correlations observed for high-school test scores. Further adjustment procedures indicated that most of the significant high-school test score correlations remained, even after elementary school academic abilities were controlled for. Moreover, spousal correlations for academic-related variables assessed after marriage, such as occupation and college education, were only slightly higher than high-school test score correlations and showed some shrinkage after controlling for school-aged academic performance. Some minor convergence was found for one of the variables assessed after marriage using a multiple regression procedure advocated by Price and Vandenburg (1980). The discontinuity in assortment found for elementary, high-school, and adult variables is related to the mate selection procedure and how it appears to be based on the phenotype best approximating that of an adult.

Editorial

EDITORIAL ACCOUNTABILITY: COMMON SENSE Every country has limits as to what it can do for its citizens. The Gramm-Rudman-Hollings legislation now being implemented by Congress states that funding for domestic programs such as education and rehabilitation must be drastically curtailed. The wisdom of these huge reductions in our country's investment in its youth and potential work force is dubious at best. However, since Gramm-Rudman-Hollings is a fact of life, the issue is how to implement it. Lack of Accountability Education and rehabilitation are currently notoriously lacking in accountability. For example, mainstreaming legislation was passed with no factually based estimate of its cost or effect. At the time PL 94-142 was passed mainstream programs had existed for three decades, and there were baseline data available. We have had PL 94142 for 11 years and there has still been no comprehensive valid measure of its cost or effect on handicapped children. In an administration that pontificates endlessly on accountability in government , it is ironic that these huge educational outlays are made with no accurate fiscal record keeping or measure of results. In the face of this inexcusable lack of accountability we have high-level administrators in the Office of Education and members of Congress telling educators of the deaf (one at a national meeting) that mainstreaming is successful and that alternatives waste money and are essentially inhumane. Residential schools too are guilty of a gross lack of accountability. For example, per capita costs are computed independent of the financial outlay for the physical plant (regular public schools do this also). Comprehensive follow-up studies of graduates are few and far between. Yet, how else can the success or failure of a program be adequately assessed? If we in education do not address the issues of costs and results, how can we complain about the cuts implicit in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings legislation? Common sense and experience tell us that a failure to invest in the education of handicapped youth will ultimately cost more in dollars and human misery than it will ever save. However, this kind of platitudinous generalization is a disgracefully inept defense of a budget or program. Accountability and Basic Data Processing The problem of a lack of accountability generalizes to simple situations not requiring sophisticated accounting procedures. For example, many schools and programs for the deaf spend 12 to 15 years educating a deaf child. Standardized academic achievement tests are administered at least annually. Yet, when the students complete school and are referred to vocational réhabilitation, no achievement test data are sent with them. Instead, meaningless report cards with idiosyncratic grading systems which no rehabilitation counselor (or teacher in most cases) can understand are sent. This kind of effort to evade accountability is self-serving perhaps because the academic achievement test scores are often low. However, it hurts the deaf youth and the rehabilitation process. Residential schools legitimately argue their prevocational and vocational programs to be superior to those available in alternative settings. Yet, many of these same schools fail to communicate to employers and rehabilitation counselors in operationally stated terms what vocational and work skills the graduating student has mastered. There is no conceivable justification for a 12- to 15-year investment in an academic and vocational education that can cost up to several hundred thousand dollars to be reported to the employer or rehabilitation counselor through report cards that give no objective data about actual academic level or vocational skills. This is analogous to the Ford Motor Company trying to justify its costs to stockholders by some general statement such as, "so many four-wheel vehicles were produced." Just as a stockholder would not know whether those four-wheel vehicles were Lincoln Continentals or plastic toys, employers and/or rehabilitation counselors often cannot tell from deaf school records whether they have an Einstein or a borderline mental retardate . A.A.D. / December 1985 485 Editorial Summary Congress will go on making bizarre generalizations . Educators, because we lack the data we Until education in general and special educa- should have wiU ^ unable t0 rebut these gener. taon in particular learn to document costs and 3U2300118 and defend the children for whose...