Basic Skills Scores Research Articles

Should Tougher Basic Skills Requirements Be Viewed as a Means of Strengthening the Teaching Force

The study assesses the criterion-related validity of one state's set of basic skills requirements for teacher licensure. Though all 186 participants met the basic skills requirements in place when enrolled as teacher education students, the PPST Reading scores of 77 participants and the PPST Mathematics scores of 67 do not meet the state's current requirements. The magnitude of correlations between the participants' basic skills scores and their performance in student teaching provides no criterion-related support for the current requirements, and the correlations involving reading and mathematics raise questions regarding the minimal competency assumption that positive relationships exist between teaching performance and scores below the qualifying levels on basic skills tests.

Achievement Levels, Outcomes, and Orientations of Black Students in Single and Two-Parent Families

The authors surveyed academically diverse (gifted, potentially gifted, and average) Black students (n = 140) in single-parent (mother only) and two-parent families regarding their perceptions of their parents' achievement ideologies, their own achievement ideologies, their attitudes toward school, and their perceptions of their school learning environments. The authors also examined the students' achievement statuses (grade point average and Iowa Test of Basic Skills scores)and achievement levels (achieving versus underachieving). The findings revealed no significant differences in the achievement statuses, achievement levels, and achievement orientations/ideologies of students in the two-parent family structures. However, students from two-parent families were more likely to be identified as gifted than were those from single-parent families. Furthermore, a significant relationship appeared between the students' own achievement ideologies and perceptions of their parents' achievement orientations. The article includes implications and recommendations for educators and family practitioners.

A Study of State Certification Exam Results for Florida Police and Correctional Recruits in Relation to Grade-Level Equivalency

Although the high school diploma is almost universally required for criminal justice employment, it has become widely discredited as no longer being a meaningful indicator of reading, writing, or computational abilities. This study examines one state's response to this discrepancy through minimum competency testing for police and correctional recruits undergoing entry-level training. Multiple regression techniques are used to determine: (1) to what extent demographic variables are predictive of recruit's basic skills scores; and (2) to what extent basic skills scores are predictive of performance on the state certification examination required for criminal justice employment. Findings indicate that demographic variables are relatively weak predictors of recruits' abilities in reading, writing, and mathematics. Moreover, contrary to expectations, considerably more of the variance in certification exam performance can be attributed to the test-taker's discipline (law enforcement or corrections) than to their basic skills scores. Possible reasons for this unexpected outcome are explored.

The Slingerland tests: reliability and validity.

This study analyzed the reliability and validity of two widely–used screening tests for academic readiness and for specific language disability: the Pre–Reading Screening Procedures and the Slingerland Screening Tests for Identifying Children with Specific Language Disability. These tests were administered to 1021 heterogeneous students in grades one through six. Student background data, handwriting samples, and Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills scores were also collected and analyzed. The study's design allowed researchers to develop estimates of reliability (alpha, test–retest, and inter–rater) and validity, including factor analysis. The results indicate that reliability and validity coefficients are well within acceptable limits for the purposes of the tests, and that educational programming decisions can confidently be based on the test results.

Monitoring Student Achievement for Accountability: The Demonstration of a Model

This study demonstrated a procedural model that can be applied by any school to assess, guide, and account for the progress of its students as well as to analyze its own effectiveness. The model uses equivalent achievement tests to monitor student achievement in subject areas at grade levels, between grade levels, and across subgroups of students. Multiple regression analyses of test scores between grades identify factors associated with achievement Using sixth and eighth grade Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills scores in a matched longitudinal sample of 208 students, the study found small differences in average achievement between boys and girls. Differences between corresponding sixth and eighth grade test means were higher in mathematics than in language. From the sixth grade to the eighth, there was a widening gap in average achievement between high and low I.Q. groups. In multiple regressions of eighth grade test scores on sixth grade measures, I.Q., study skills, and reading were prevalent in the regression equations, but clusters of measures associated with achievement differed between high and low’ LQ. groups. The results of the study have implications for developing and evaluating the achievement of students with varying mental abilities.