Whether to adopt national standards and tests has long been a subject of lively debate in the United States. With 47 states now participating in the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and a commitment from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to allocate hundreds of millions in stimulus funds to the development of common tests, the country is…

Public uses of tests and testing include all those materials and practices in observation of human behavior that are intended to help administrators, school boards, legislatures, taxpayers, and others to evaluate their educational systems. Pedagogical uses of tests, on the other hand, cover all those materials and practices in observation of human…

This bulletin, now in its fifth edition, provides the teacher with specific assistance in evaluating student behavior in two vital areas of social studies education--study skills and critical thinking. The first three chapters provide background discussion on the problems of teaching and testing these skills and offer some general suggestions. A…

Offers a historical perspective on testing in U.S. education, arguing that nationwide emphases on student assessment have been linked to vacillations in public confidence in the nation's educational system. Compares the focus on assessment that followed the expansion of secondary education between 1890 and 1935 with the current assessment…

Explores the relationship between mandates for educational excellence and more rigorous standards and the community college's role in providing access to educational opportunity for all students. Underscores the difference between accountability-based assessment and compliance-based testing. (DMM)