This policy brief was written to provide the North Carolina State Board of Education with a research summary on the provision of rewards to high-performing school districts. A 1988 study of state accountability systems across the United States suggested that maintaining an appropriate balance between state oversight of performance and local…

Monitoring school performance has become an overriding concern in American political and educational circles, and some of that scrutiny is being directed at the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES). However, there is concern that pressure to prove the effectiveness of Essential Schools may overshadow efforts to actually improve education. Taking…

This document outlines a community-based state school system that allows a large degree of local autonomy in exchange for heightened accountability for school performance. It highlights a model education platform for candidates in the 1994 election. A system of educational excellence for the 21st century would be performance-based, locally…

Issues in the debate over national education standards for content and performance are examined in this journal issue. Interviews with three individuals in different areas of education were held, and each is described in narrative style by Anne Turnbaugh Lockwood. The first is with Linda Darling-Hammond, director of the National Center for…

An overview of accountability in public education is presented in this publication. Contents include a review of recent accountability efforts, an outline of a comprehensive accountability model, an analysis of accountability strategies, and a discussion of means for incorporating system indicators into the larger systemic framework. A conclusion…

Assessment of student progress is a challenge for educators who use developmentally appropriate practices such as multiage grouping. Interest in alternative types of assessment has become widespread. These performance-based, or authentic, assessments are explored in this document, which presents assessment strategies that work effectively with…

This document describes performance assessments (PAs) (alternative assessments or authentic assessments). PA requires students to perform a task rather than select an answer on a ready-made list. Some methods that have been used successfully to assess performance include open-ended or extended response exercises, extended tasks, and portfolios.…

The four articles in this theme issue provide an overview of assessment in the social studies and the rationale behind the movement for a more authentic assessment of learning outcomes. In the first article, "Thinking as an Unnatural Act," William T. Daly offers a clear rationale for social studies teachers to re-examine the methods of assessing…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has developed a new generation of assessment tasks for evaluating student achievement in music. Using paper-and-pencil and performance formats, these tasks draw on the musical traditions of many cultures and historical periods. This report summarizes results from the 1997 assessment of eighth…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has developed a new generation of assessment tasks for assessing student achievement in the visual arts. Using paper-and-pencil and performance formats, these tasks draw on the concepts, skills, and processes used to create and understand visual images from a variety of world cultures and…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1997 Arts Education Assessment represents the first comprehensive approach on a national level to the development of methods for assessing student performance in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. The Assessment reflects the conviction that the arts are essential for every child's…

Three articles on current research in testing are presented. The first article, "Testing in the Schools", discusses the role of testing in educational reform. In the 1980s, the overwhelming purpose of state standardized testing has become promoting accountability in areas of: (1) monitoring; (2) gatekeeping; (3) remediation; and (4)…

This document analyzes responses to questions included in a national assessment of knowledge of U.S. history and geography in an attempt to determine the relationship between study habits and academic performance. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1994 asked 4th-, 8th-, and 12th-grade students specific questions regarding…