There was also strong opposition to a number of other proposals, including whole-school performance bonuses based on test and exam results (76% disagreed with this) and the "fast-tracking" of bright graduates onto higher salaries (54% were opposed).

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But union leaders worry that in New York, where teacher evaluations are based in part on student test results, teachers will be blamed for low scores.

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Test results based on independent third party Mobile Mark tests.

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As long as the entrance requirements for universities and senior secondary schools remain based on the results of national exams which primarily test students' ability to memorise, parents will pile on the same pressures.

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In the study, the scientists were able to split the patients into four groups based on the results of the barcode test.

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The results, based on test performances of samples of 9, 13 and 17 year olds, suggest that apart from maths, average school standards have not risen since the early 1990s.

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On the other hand, the test of a policy based on realism is whether it delivers results, and engagement on its own, as Mr Bush discovered in his chastened second term, seldom alters the behaviour of regimes that think they are acting rationally in their own vital interests.

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Dr. Singh and other researchers are studying how to better define and measure errors and what strategies best prevent them, such as using electronic health records to track patient test results and helping doctors with software that suggests an alternative diagnosis based on symptoms.

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