This document presents issues that should be considered before student test results are used in evaluations of teacher performance. As the stakes attached to student test results have increased, so has the need for educators to make informed decisions about the types of tests used to generate data for these purposes and the way student test…

Few individuals in the history of education have had greater impact on education policy and practice than Benjamin S. Bloom. During a career that spanned more than 5 decades, his research and writing guided the development of many educational programs and provided insights into the untapped potential of educators to have all students learn well.…

Clearly stated educational objectives can help in educational evaluation. Because objectives sans assessment are little more than rhetoric, criterion-referenced tests are advocated for assessing objective-attainment. Performance standards are viewed as appropriately separable from objectives. Five guidelines regarding objectives are suggested for…

This document traces the development of the testing and reporting system used in the Elkhart Community Schools (ECS), Indiana, from 1981 through 1985. Performance objectives were established when the program was initiated. Analyses of standardized test results were provided for teachers, principals, and central administrative staff. All school…

The various ways that standards and standards-based education are being addressed around the United States are described. The education community can trace the start of the modern standards movement to the publication of "A Nation at Risk" in 1983 (National Commission on Excellence). The first education summit in 1987 then became a…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) approach to developing assessments is described. NAEP will solicit views concerning assessment objectives and use the consensus approach. NAEP results can impact educational policy and school and classroom practices. Several policies have been adopted to provide improved information about…

In 1982-83, Riverside Unified School District (California) selected an achievement test to provide both norm- and criterion-referenced (dual objective) data for its achievement testing program. The test selection process was focused around eight evaluation aspects: prescreening of tests, content matching, instructional evaluation, processing…

Describes a one-semester conversational language course based on specific proficiency goals. The oral proficiency pre- and posttests, goal contracts outlining performance objectives for each chapter of the text, specific instructional and grading techniques, and class activities are detailed. (MSE)

The oral proficiency interview, a one-to-one conversational interview structured to elicit the best performance the student can sustain, is based on a scale and test developed 30 years ago by the Foreign Service Institute. Interest in it has increased substantially in recent years, and further research and development of the measure for use in a…

Some of the major research in the area of assessment, concentrating on distance learning, is reviewed, and a strategy that can be used as a guideline for assessment of distance learning, and particularly World Wide Web-based courses, is introduced. A review of assessment strategies confirms that a balance between knowledge acquisition and…

As part of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP), minimum competency tests of reading, mathematics, and communication skills are administered annually to fourth, seventh, and tenth grade students in Michigan. Results are calculated for each of the desired objectives. Data are also collected on students' reading habits. MEAP test…

The Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS) helps to improve basic skills mastery by assessing student achievement and district performance levels in reading, writing and mathematics. TABS was designed to provide information for instructional planning in the state-funded compensatory education service. Minimum competency objectives are to be…

This study on secondary education in the Soviet Union examines characteristics of the various kinds of secondary schools--general secondary education, secondary education, secondary specialized education, and vocational education--and aspects of the Soviet examination system. The first section on general secondary education provides information…

The Milepost Testing Program of the Los Angeles Unified School District (California) is described. The district's Ten Schools Program was designed as an intervention to raise student achievement in 10 historically low-achieving inner-city schools, with a minimum 60-percent African American population. The Milepost Testing Program was conceived of…

The North Carolina Project for Reform in Science Education, which is part of the National Science Teachers Association's Scope, Sequence, and Coordination Project, and the importance of student test scores as an evaluation tool were evaluated. Seven North Carolina schools participated in the project's first year (1991-92), with 21 teachers, and…