Recommendations are presented for the state-by-state assessment of student achievement as part of the development of educational indicators to be compared across states. The State Education Assessment Center of the Council of Chief State School Officers solicited comments from the states about developing the assessment program. Issues were…

Narrates an interview with Kenneth Ashworth, the recently retired commissioner of higher education in Texas, regarding his role in shaping the state's developmental-education programs. States that Ashworth was instrumental in starting the Texas Academic Skills Program, a statewide, basic-skills assessment program. Addresses such issues as funding…

The educational assessment of basic skills in Michigan has grown from a needed source of information on achievement to an integral part of statewide efforts to improve school achievement. The educational assessment program first provided information to address two important educational questions: "What is the level of basic skills achievement…

Designed to accompany a slide series called "Understanding Your Grade 3 California Assessment Program (CAP) Report," this package is the second in a series that has been produced in conjunction with the new third grade test. The slide series describes the contents of the Survey of Basic Skills report that contains respective school's…

In 1980, the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) revised the instruments used to assess basic skills attainment in mathematics and reading of all students in grades 4, 7, and 10. The research summarized in this paper examined the factor structures of the 1979 and 1980 versions of the Grade 10 MEAP mathematics test. These two versions…

The State of Florida has, for several years, been committed to perfecting a workable system of accountability for the public schools. The Florida Statewide Assessment Program, begun in 1971, has been an important element in this accountability effort. The Program was designed to assess students' academic strengths and weaknesses, particularly in…

This report on the Pennsylvania statewide assessment program answers two questions: (1) what are minimum competencies?; and (2) for whom are competencies really minimal? (Author/MP)

The interview with the social studies coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Education discusses development of a competence-based graduation test, definitions of "selected educational learner outcomes" (SELOs), relationship of Minnesota's SELOs to national standards, and problems of testing skills and attitudes. (AV)

A description of the program through which the state of Michigan has assessed the minimal competencies of its school pupils is given. (JT)

Three statewide assessment programs in Connecticut developed in response to the State Board of Education's goals and objectives are described. These include: (1) the Connecticut Assessment of Educational Progress; (2) the Educational Evaluation and Remedial Assessment Program; and (3) the Connecticut Mastery Testing Program.

The South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) is discussed in a question/answer format. The 20 questions present information regarding the requirements of the legislation as it impacts classroom instruction, parental notification and involvement, recordkeeping, local school curricula, additional instructional materials, developmental…

This report presents Austin Independent School District 1984 test results on the Texas Assessment of Basics Skills (TABS). It was administered to all third, fifth and ninth grade students and to high school students not meeting ninth grade state-set mastery criteria, the minimum competency requirement for graduation. Results are presented as…

Instructional guidelines for grade 3 objectives being tested by the Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS) are presented. The guidelines are designed to be helpful to primary grade teachers in clarifying expectations regarding the TABS tests. Looking at the grade 3 basic skill descriptions will indicate what students in kindergarten through grade…

The Comprehensive Basic Skills Program Review (CBSPR) is an essential part of the New Jersey public school evaluation and improvement process. This group of handbooks describes a process for analyzing existing school programs and practices in relation to those factors which have been identified through research to be associated with successful…

The Nebraska Assessment Battery of Essential Learning Skills (N-ABELS) is a goal-oriented instrument with an evaluation component providing a basis for determining acquisition of twelve skills defined as learning goals. Each goal is stated in terms of an acceptable performance standard which clearly describes what the student must do. The skills…