New Hampshire's Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE) innovative assessment system uses student scores from classroom performance assessments as well as other classroom tests for school accountability purposes. One concern is that not having annual state testing may incentivize schools and teachers away from teaching the breadth of…

New laws in California have set the state on a course for some potentially significant changes to the curriculum, including a measure that revisits the matter of teaching Algebra 1 in 8th grade and another that revamps the state's textbook-adoption process and hands districts greater leeway in choosing instructional materials. The algebra-related…

This study investigates the influence of Green School designation on students' achievement in state-mandated standardized tests. Data were gathered 3 years pre- and post-Green schools designation, from test pass rates in reading and mathematics for Grade 5 and Grade 8 students, and from mathematics, English language arts, and biology scores for…

This article reports on the collaboration of six states to study how simulation-based science assessments can become transformative components of multi-level, balanced state science assessment systems. The project studied the psychometric quality, feasibility, and utility of simulation-based science assessments designed to serve formative purposes…

Students in grades 5 and 8 completed a state writing assessment, and their first and final drafts on the extended writing portion of the test were copied and scored using the state writing rubric. The rubric consisted of three primary traits: Content and Organization, Style and Fluency, and Language Use. Scorers were blind to the study purpose and…

This report on the 1977 mathematics assessment of British Columbian students in grades 4, 8, and 12 describes the item specification model; test administration procedures; results for each grade level; and overall results correlated to sex, mother tongue, and parental level of schooling. (SJL)

A national commission formed to review the future of the 12th grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has recommended that the nation's primary barometer of student performance should expand dramatically to provide mandatory state results on the achievement of 12th graders and to measure their readiness for college, employment,…

The Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress (IIEP) writing assessment is designed to assess students' knowledge and skills on curricular benchmarks. The Rating Guide for Functional Writing is criterion-referenced. The IIEP is neither mandated by statute nor connected to graduation requirements. Randomly selected students are tested each year.…

Because many school funding studies are seriously flawed, valid conclusions cannot be reached concerning the effects of school funding in the United States. New evidence from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and two international achievement tests shows that differences among U.S. public school districts (and states) in funding and…

Studied the amount of measurement error in a state's performance-based writing task as it relates to high-stakes decision reproducibility. Using 175 eighth-grade writing samples, the study finds moderate correlations between the two raters' scores, with significant differences for the rates for the handwritten, but not the typed, essays.(SLD)

The program design and psychometric characteristics of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) are described, focusing on scaling, equating, standard setting, score accuracy, and validity. The MSPAP is an innovative performance-based testing program administered annually to students in grades three, five, and eight. (SLD)

Describes the first administration of the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) to fifth-grade students. Discusses the history of CLAS, types of questions employed, content coverage, methods of scoring, and reporting on tests results. Presents sample questions, student responses, and commentary on student performance. (CFR)