This paper describes and evaluates a comprehensive school and instructional management system developed and implemented in one of the nation's largest and fastest growing school districts. Since implementing the system, standardized achievement scores have increased an average 20 percentile points. The system has components to: (1) clearly set…

The role of test scores used as a district monitoring device by boards of education is discussed. It is suggested that board members insist on inservice education to become knowledgeable in using test scores as curriculum feedback, to understand what is being tested, and to understand test results. Concepts to be covered include: (1) meaning of…

Tennessee has adopted a model of educational accountability called the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS). The model attempts to measure district, school, and teacher effects on student academic gains, rather than emphasizing achievement scores at a single time, using data generated by a standardized test, the Tennessee Comprehensive…

The usefulness of authentic assessments as formative tools for teachers is well documented and supported. However, when educational institutions use these assessments as summative tools for evaluating programs and meeting accountability needs, several problems emerge. One set of problems relates to the difficulty of fitting authentic assessments…

The National Assessment Governing Board and the National Center for Education Statistics sponsored a Joint Conference on Standard Setting for Large-Scale Assessments to provide a forum for technical and policy issues relevant to setting standards at local, state, and national levels. Volume I contains an executive summary of the conference and…

Given the wide individual differences among any group of students and since measurements are always accompanied by errors, the question of how tests should be used in assessing the quality of an educational program is considered. The ways in which educators have dealt with this problem are reviewed, from the systematic examinations of the question…

The dominant issues in considering the use of tests developed outside the classroom to measure the impact of curriculum reform on higher order thinking are reviewed by a panel interviewed for this discussion. Panel members are: (1) Stuart Kahl, (2) Robert Linn, (3) Senta A. Raizen, (4) Lauren Resnick, and (5) Thomas A. Romberg. It is conceded…

A preliminary collaborative model is presented for the restructuring of the San Diego (California) city schools to implement diverse forms of assessment. It is assumed that collaboration among program evaluation, curriculum, and classroom teachers can foster reforms. Central office staff can enable and facilitate the implementation of different…

Three papers are presented that summarize current project findings from a study of the actual effects of introducing new forms of assessment at the classroom level. All focus on aspects of performance assessment as an alternative to traditional assessments. "Effects of Introducing Classroom Performance Assessments on Student Learning" by Lorrie A.…

This report provides information on design and evaluation of workplace literacy programs (WLPs) to improve work force readiness and an overview of concepts about the nature, uses, and abuses of standardized tests in program evaluation and accountability. Chapter 1 takes a sociohistorical and sociopolitical perspective in discussing the knowledge…

The Association of State Assessment Programs, an informal association of state assessment directors, began collecting information about large-scale assessment programs in 1977. This report is a continuation of that effort that is currently conducted by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory and the Council of Chief State School…

The place for standardized testing in Chapter 1 evaluation is discussed. There is substantial evidence available on the negative effects of high-stakes standardized testing, and there is a clear link between Chapter 1 requirements and the amount of testing in most school districts. Standardized testing is usually used to identify eligible…

New Jersey has taken steps to improve vocational education programs and services in response to two state reports and the measurement and evaluation requirements of the reauthorized Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-392). Among state initiatives is the Occupational Competency Project, a study of 100…

In this article, the authors describe various rationales for accountability testing programs over the past century. This history forms the backdrop for current test-driven reforms, including Public Law 107-110, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), which was signed into law in January 2002. The goals of the authors are first, to illustrate…

This report provides a profile of state testing programs in 1992-93, as well as a view of classroom testing practices by state, school district, school, or individual teacher. Information, taken from a variety of sources, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress and a General Accounting Office study, indicates that the…