States increasingly are incorporating Kindergarten Entry Assessments (KEAs) into their comprehensive assessment systems with the goal of helping educators identify gaps in children's competencies, target instruction to children's individual needs, engage parents to better support their child's learning, and identify needs for expanding and…

Employers, postsecondary institutions, and civic leaders are urging greater focus on 21st century skills essential for college, career, and civic success: problem solving, interpersonal skills, and collaboration, among others. In response to these demands, states across the country are working to realign policies--on learning standards,…

Describes the implementation plans, experience, and results of incorporating performance measurement into the accreditation process of the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Traces the evolution of standardized core measures known to be valid and reliable, noting political and technical problems in measure…

This case study of testing in the Dallas Independent School District illuminates ways in which the testing program can support a district-wide instructional improvement process to provide a comprehensive and accurate measurement system for teaching. (Author/PN)

The Dallas Independent School District (DISD) is rapidly progressing from the position of having an assessment program that does not work to the position of having an assessment program that does work. The perception that assessment is separate from instruction has changed to a view of assessment as part of a four-stage model including planning,…

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…

This bulletin has three purposes: (1) to discuss the variety of factors which should be considered in the development of a local testing program, providing a basic understanding of what is necessary to implement and maintain a testing program; (2) to suggest several of the significant elements related to the development and maintenance of a…

Procedures are presented for state departments of education and the local educational agencies to share the responsibility of showing that a minimum competency test is a fair measure of what is taught. It is recommended that the state lead in technical assistance, provide models, and monitor and evaluate the entire process. (CM)

The Chicago (Illinois) School Reform Act of 1988 (Public Act 85-1418) established the performance of students on a nationally normed, standardized test as a key measure of success. In the Chicago Public Schools, the tests used are the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) in the elementary grades and the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency (TAP) in…

To provide information for decision making related to competency testing in reading, the Cleveland School District developed a working paper for staff discussion. This paper presents information about the varied aspects of a competency testing program which will use locally developed test questions and be implemented in response to a Board of…

This paper describes the processes that one school district, the Visalia Unified School District (California), went through in establishing a standards-based assessment and accountability system using multiple methods. First the district's standards-based assessment and accountability system and the methods used to establish it are described, and…

To understand how assessment, particularly alternative assessment, and practice interactions may differ among schools with different implementation contexts and different school cultures, this project is studying over time a set of schools representing different state and local policy contexts and including different student populations. Research…

Assistance offered by the State Department of Education to school districts in Oregon to help them identify aspects of student achievement under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (Hawkins Stafford Amendments of 1988) is discussed. Two hundred ninety-five of the 297 Oregon public school districts have Chapter 1 programs,…

The Halstead/Bentley Public School District in south-central Kansas has a long, successful history of administering a comprehensive evaluation program of achievement, scholastic aptitude, and interest tests and inventories in grades K-12. The PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) is an…