This study considered two questions about the use of national and state assessment databases: (1) Do state and national assessments provide the same information on the performance of an educational system? and (2) What are the factors that might affect the discrepancies between national and state assessment results? Kentucky and Maine were chosen…

This paper summarizes what is known about the effects of Texas policies to raise academic standards, measure student performance, and impose consequences for results over the past decade. A careful review of the best available evidence shows that, while Texas has not yet achieved an education "miracle," the state has taken several steps…

The Oregon Statewide Report Card is an annual publication required by law (ORS 329.115), which reports on the state of public schools and their progress towards the goals of the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century. The purpose of the Oregon Report Card is to monitor trends among school districts and Oregon's progress toward achieving the…

Political and legislative pressures have posed a number of measurement issues and challenges to the development of sound, valid voluntary national tests (VNTs). This paper focuses on what appear to be the most difficult technical issues related to the VNT proposed by President Clinton in 1997. Technical issues refer to psychometric issues, as…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has conducted state assessments in 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996. At present, after the fourth round of state assessments, it is clear that the program is generally successful. A survey of state testing directors indicates that the NAEP has considerable credibility as a valid and reliable source…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was initiated in the mid-1960's to collect student achievement information over time and describe the data in ways meaningful to the nation's educational and civic leaders. This work presents the Florida perspective on how NAEP can be improved to aid educational decision-makers in the…

In response to citizens' need and right to know about how North Dakota students perform in mathematics, the Department of Public Instruction and the North Dakota Council of Teachers of Mathematics administered a criterion-referenced mathematics assessment in grades 4 (1,298 students) and 8 (1,475 students). Also included were items from the…

This paper is the first of a series that will compare estimates of error that arises when state assessments are linked to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Different forms of linkage are discussed. Comparisons are made between whole-sample regression, repeated half-sample replication, bootstrap, and jackknife estimates of the…

The adequacy of linking statewide standardized test results to the National Assessment of Educational Progress by using equipercentile equating procedures was investigated using statewide mathematics data from four states. Results suggest that the linkings are not sufficiently trustworthy to make comparisons based on the tails of the distribution.…

In 1988, whether the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)--the "Nation's Report Card"--could become a report card for the states was studied. A trial assessment program was authorized to determine whether state assessments following the NAEP format could produce reliable and useful estimates of educational progress. This…

A major issue facing the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Writing Assessment is its relationship with the most frequently encountered measurement practices among State Education Agencies (SEAs) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs). Should NAEP conduct its assessments in a fashion that represents how things should be, or reflect…

The process of developing a state education indicators system using the model proposed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is described. The CCSSO model has three components--indicators of educational outcomes; indicators of school policies and practices; and indicators of contextual factors, or state characteristics. The goal is…

Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states were invited in June 1984 to participate in a project with the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to assess the reading achievement of eleventh grade students. Florida, Tennessee and Virginia accepted and worked with SREB and NAEP staff to develop and administer the testing program.…

1982-83 Georgia Regents' Testing Program reading subtest scores and five aptitude/achievement variables of 256 Black and 3009 White Georgia University sophomores were compared. Classification analysis showed White students scored higher. Results were compared to the National Assessment of Education Program findings. (BS)

This paper discusses the rationale for enhancing the current National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) design by adding a capacity for adaptive testing. Items are tailored to the achievement level of the student in adaptive testing. The report describes a 1993 Ohio field trail of two-stage assessment carried out by the National Opinion…