The U.S. Department of Education has not yet published an official guidance document for using NAEP achievement level scores to confirm state testing results. A review of the literature, however, identified four principles that inform the valid use of NAEP scores in a confirming analysis. The principles address the appropriate NAEP statistics to…

Whether differences in the standards states have set can be explained by something other than regional differences is explored. In addition, a way in which standards can be compared is defined, and the standard of proficiency that seems to be widely shared across the country is illustrated. The Trial State Assessment (TSA) data from the National…

A systematic analysis of student assessment data from Maine and Kentucky, using National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data and state and local assessment results, was conducted to address issues of measurement and attribution involved in evaluating systemic school reform. This paper (1) examines ways to cope with the challenges of…

The major issue of educational quality is linked to the potential of national and state assessment programs. It is suggested that changes in assessment design, analysis, and reporting can significantly contribute to improvement in the policy development process. The California Assessment Program illustrates how state assessment information may be…

Developed an empirical strategy for studying broad-based educational change using quantitative methods and an extensive database consisting of state policy indicators and data on schools and classrooms from states participating in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Results of a Rasch analysis indicate that patterns of state policy…

The steady growth of state testing programs and its implications for the measurement community are discussed in terms of testing purposes (monitoring, accountability, and curriculum advancement) and test development, administration, and reporting. It is important that the measurement community address crucial issues to maintain its substantial…

A recently developed model of validation (T. J. Crooks, M. T. Kane, and A. S. Cohen, 1996) is briefly outlined. It conceptualizes assessment as divided into a chain of eight linked stages: (1) administration; (2) scoring; (3) aggregation; (4) generalization; (5) extrapolation; (6) evaluation; (7) decision; and (8) impact. The model is then used to…

Procedures used in securing the cooperation of states and schools for the 1990 Trial State Assessment Program (TSAP) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are described. These include procedures for: (1) the 1989 Field Test; (2) the training of local administrators and quality control monitors; and (3) scoring and processing…

The purposes of the North Dakota Statewide Assessment of Student Performance in Mathematics are: (1) to meet the public's right to know about the current status of student knowledge throughout the state; (2) to provide information and recommendations for corrective action concerning areas of student performance needing improvement; and (3) to…

Texas has apparently achieved great success in closing the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students, at least in the lower grades. Texas students in all grades have made substantial gains on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). The effect of TAAS-type accountability on student performance in the higher grades is important,…

Texas students have made extraordinarily large gains on statewide achievement tests, the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), gains so dramatic that they have been dubbed the "Texas miracle." There is general agreement that these gains are attributable to the high stakes accountability system in Texas, but there is some question…

Since 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has worked to provide reliable information on the academic performance of U.S. students in various subjects. This document is the most comprehensive listing of government-funded NAEP publications. By cataloguing this collection, the directory provides something of a history of the…

It is suggested that some of the technology applied to state Scholastic Aptitude Test scores to measure states' educational performance (particularly use of a truncated Gaussian model) may make it possible to adjust National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores to make inferences about state educational progress possible. (SLD)

This digest examines issues concerning performance assessment of students receiving special education services. Issues addressed are: (1) need to infuse performance assessment into national programs including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS); (2) current lack of inclusion of…

The model used by National Assessment for data gathering and reporting on the Citizenship area is described, and the potential uses of the model for state and local assessment, curriculum development, and accountability purposes are discussed. The study was carried out using papers and reports from the National Assessment of Educational Progress,…