This digest considers the use of performance assessment within outcomes-based accountability systems for students with and without disabilities. Application of performance assessment to students with disabilities involves defining the outcomes, developing performance standards, developing assessment accommodations, and scoring. Implications of…

Examined are the roles and progress over the past 3 years of state councils on developmental disabilities, as established by the Developmental Disabilities Act of 1970. (Author/DB)

The Maryland Accountability Testing Program Annual Report is a reference document for the public that includes a survey of current test results and the progress being made by Maryland public school students in grades 3, 5, and 8. The California Achievement Tests are the standardized achievement tests used to provide the information required by…

A mail questionnaire study involving 3,000 Texas educators was undertaken to describe the effects of certain Texas education reform policies as they relate to teacher burnout. Focus was on determining how the production of teacher-required paperwork and mandated student achievement testing influence teacher burnout. An initial mailing resulted in…

The monograph provides an overview of inservice education issues related to P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act; and considers approaches to designing and implementing statewide inservice training programs. Considered in the first section are the following topics: inservice provisions of P.L. 94-142; the proliferation of…

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…

The incentive grant approach in higher Education is a resource allocation strategy that may have significant positive impact on educational performance. This document covers: (1) the incentive grant approach to resource allocation; (2) the evolution during the past 15 years of types of incentive grant programs and the contrasting roles played by…

The Oklahoma Indian education program is financed and operated under a contract between the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of Interior, and the State Department of Education. Supervision of the program is the responsibility of the State Department of Education as authorized by the Johnson O'Malley (JOM) Act of 1936. To qualify for JOM…

Three papers in this book place the current movement of accountability and State assessment in perspective and point to the emergence of a different set of "arrangements" for education than those normally accepted by Americans and a different way of framing goals for education. In the first paper, Miriam Clasby draws attention to the intended and…

Driver Education is one of the most expensive courses on a per pupil basis offered in secondary schools. In order to assess the magnitude of driver education in New York State, and to evaluate the various methods and approaches used to teach the course, the Office of Education Performance Review surveyed 67 driver education programs offered at…

Three addresses from the Michigan School Testing Conference, "Curricular Accountability Through Testing" (Ted Ward); "The Role of State Testing in Curriculum Evaluation" (C. Philip Kearney); and "The Role of the Counselor in Curriculum Evaluation" (Mildred Peters) are included. (AG)

The first section of a four-part technical report of Florida's statewide program for assessing reading-related skills in grades 2 and 4 provides an introduction to the program, a description of procedures used, and recommendations regarding program operation. Program background, design, and responsibility for assessment activities are discussed in…

New York's Action Plan, a comprehensive program outlining school reforms to be phased in over the next decade, stresses the partnership of local and state governments. It sets expectations for student performance, increases accountability, addresses quality of instruction, provides extra help where needed, and allows local flexibility. (DCS)

This report provides a bi-annual snapshot of how states regulate and support programs and services for gifted and talented learners. The report, developed from a survey of the state directors of programs for the gifted, covers questions about funding, state education agency support, mandates, identification, programs and services, personnel…