The purpose of educational assessments is to provide an academic check-up and to give educators, parents, students, and policymakers valuable feedback about students' academic strengths, areas that need improvement, how well they are progressing toward college and career readiness, and the effectiveness of the state's educational system. This…

The Adult High School (AHS) program enables an adult no longer enrolled in public high school to complete the required courses and state assessments to earn a standard high school diploma. Course requirements are in accordance with standards established by the state. A program of instruction for both traditional and co-enrolled AHS students shall…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and implementing regulations maintain requirements for State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs) to prepare and disseminate report cards that provide information on State, LEA, and school performance and…

This guidance is written to assist State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) in understanding and implementing the report card requirements under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA). Although each SEA and LEA may consider this guidance in developing and…

Mandated by Congress, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) surveys the educational accomplishments of U.S. students and monitors changes in those accomplishments. NAEP tracks the educational achievement of fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students over time in selected content areas. Since 1969, NAEP has been collecting data…

Issues associated with minimum competency testing are discussed: the national, state, and local context for MCT program development; MCT's potential impact; the use and development of MCT programs; and reactions to the testing programs. Presently, the federal role is described as limited to providing information, research support, and technical…

The primary sample for Year 11 of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was selected in March 1979, and was preceded by an 18-month planning effort. During the planning period, research concentrated in five specific areas: sampling frame construction, stratification criteria, efficiency study review, techniques and computer…

This technical report and user's guide is designed to provide researchers with an overview of the design and implementation of the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), as well as with information on how to access the PISA 2009 data. This information is meant to supplement that presented in Organization for Economic Cooperation…

Describes the steps that a school district should follow in the first stages of implementing a minimum competency testing program: preparatory activities, defining the project, identifying existing tests, evaluating tests, developing a local test, and sharing knowledge. (Author)

Describes the rigors of the certification process through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Describes how a collaborative team of teacher education faculty and national-board certified teachers led a year-long program of support for candidates for national-board certification, mentoring nearly 100 teachers in a three-year…

The approaches used by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to characterize syntax, cohesion and mechanics are described. These approaches are different from the Primary Trait System, a scheme used by NAEP for rating essays. Part one of the publication describes the procedures NAEP used to characterize differences in syntactic…

This guide for testing coordinators includes information regarding: (1) Idaho statewide testing (both state and federal requirements); (2) testing dates; (3) Idaho Reading indicator (IRI); (4) Direct Mathematics Assessment (DMA); (5) Direct Writing Assessment (DEA); (6) Idaho Alternative Assessment (IAA); (7) Idaho Standards Achievement Test…

Discussed are the need for standardized tests and the changes that will be needed for their proper implementation. The use of calculators on tests is advocated. Computer and calculator delivered examinations are also discussed. (KR)

The challenge of making educational programs accessible to people with disabilities, combined with the increasing emphasis on testing and other forms of assessment, has translated into a need for accommodations in the testing and assessment of people with disabilities. Typically, test accommodations are provided for people with sensory and/or…

This document is the users' guide for Version 3.1 of the Public-Use data tapes compiled by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1983-84. The Public-Use tapes are produced to allow outside researchers access to the NAEP data. The tapes accompanying this guide contain data assessing student achievement in reading and writing at…