This case study shows how testing in Mississippi is used as an effective part of a statewide accountability and instructional improvement program. By using criterion-referenced testing as one aspect of a program evaluation requirement, Mississippi is basing instructional improvement on student performance. (Author)

What is meant by "accountability" varies a great deal. It is not, however, the tools such as merit salary plans, voucher plans, and management techniques that are used to achieve accountability. Accountability has from its earliest days been tied to testing. In discussing testing, it is necessary to discuss the pros and cons of standardized, or…

The Michigan accountability system, based on statewide objectives-referenced testing at two grade levels generated considerable controversy, including this response to criticisms of an evaluation of the program by a panel of three persons. The contract under which the evaluation was performed is quoted to show that the authors of the report were…

The pros and cons of using behavioral objectives, the merits of norm-referenced versus objective-referenced tests, and the virtues of sampling versus census testing are familiar topics in evaluation literature. Far less common is practical information on how to implement objective-referenced testing, particularly the large-scale testing required…

This directory provides brief, current information about 50 goal-based education programs of many types, sizes, and scopes throughout the United States. These programs make use of such concepts as minimum competency testing, mastery learning techniques, and continuous progress curricula, among many others. The directory is organized into five…

One Midwestern state has chosen a model of state assessment in which local school districts are responsible for developing the strategies to measure and report their students' performance on state-adopted content standards. When students are not measured on common instruments, district accountability becomes an added challenge. This paper presents…

The Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) is a state-mandated, criterion-referenced or mastery test that has been administered since the 1990-91 school year. The TAAS measures student mastery of the statewide curriculum in reading and mathematics at grades 3 through 8 and at the exit level, and in writing at grades 4 and 8 and at the exit…

The 1992-93 school year marked the first year of implementation of the statewide mandate of the Arizona Student Assessment Program (ASAP), which revised previous legislation. Iowa Test of Basic Skills testing requirements were restricted to grades 2 and 7, and districts were allowed greater flexibility in their own testing, which had previously…

The statewide implementation of the Georgia State Board of Education (GSBE) policy for high school graduation requirements was begun in September, 1980. It specifically stated that the GSBE would be responsible for assessing the basic skills, or learner skills, of students enrolled in public schools. It further stated that each local school system…

The Florida Statewide Assessment Program, defined by the 1976 Educational Accountability Act, collects and disseminates information on the effectiveness of its school systems to help its students achieve minimum performance standards (MPS) in mathematics, reading, and writing tasks. The 1980-81 regular assessment involved approximately 460,000…

The Florida Statewide Assessment Program, a result of the Educational Accountability Act of 1971, collects and reports information annually concerning student achievement in the basic skills areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. This publication was prepared for counselors and other school personnel as a resource manual with the following…

In September 1977 a reading and language arts test, based upon 40 objectives slated for student accomplishment by the end of grade four, was administered to all Delaware fourth graders. This test, the Objective-Referenced Measure in Communications, was intended to provide entry level diagnostic information to classroom teachers and to inform…

The procedures and results of a pilot program in a statewide assessment of learning in Colorado are presented. Findings and conclusions of the project in which the Common Status Measures of the U.S. Office of Education were administered to 12,000 pupils in 31 school districts concurrently with objectives-referenced items developed by the Colorado…

In this update, 49 more goal-based programs are added to the 50 programs described in the directory's initial 1981 edition. The programs are goal-based in that they make use of such concepts as minimum competency testing, mastery learning, and continuous progress curricula, among others. As in the initial edition, each program receives a one-page…

The paradox of site-based school management with use of standardized tests or instructional management systems that restrict teacher choices was evident in one school district in North Carolina in which measurement of student success has centered on student performance on state-mandated tests. A study was conducted to see if students whose…