Volume 2--Narrative Descriptions of Fourteen Selected Programs for Reducing Truant and Disruptive Behavior in Schools

ABSTRACT Student scores on standardized tests have steadily declined since 1965. Researchers conducted a literature review and completed data analysis to determine the reasons for this decrease, assessing trends for the period from 1965 to 1983. The kinds of tests most commonly used are aptitude, achievement, and tests of personal and social characteristics. Score trends vary from test to test. The reasons for the declining student scores include changes in the c, osition of test-takers, decreases in the quantity of schooling which students experience, curriculum changes, declines in student motivation, and deterioration of the family system and social environment. These factors, in combination, have contributed to the test score decline for more than the past fifteen years. Efforts to end the decreases must address the curricular and school climate factors identified. (DWH)