Since the 1960s, there have been continuing federal efforts to bring reform to scale in high-poverty elementary and secondary schools across the U.S. This paper traces the evolution of these efforts and discusses their impacts on achievement outcomes. Drawing on evidence from meta-analyses of the Title I evaluation literature and the Comprehensive…

Discusses three recent attempts to establish national science-education standards: "Project 2061: Science for All Americans"; the National Research Council's national standards for curriculum, teaching, and assessment; and the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Suggests that such reform movements could provide useful direction to local…

Scotland's "Assessment is for Learning" initiative (AifL) seeks to introduce a co-ordinated national system for assessment in schools. Formative assessment is a major plank in this. The initiative has moved beyond its pilot phase and it is intended that it will be adopted by all Scottish schools by 2007. This article draws upon the…

Based on the FairTest perspective, this paper argues that the United States does not need a national test to measure progress toward the nation's educational goals and that such a test would have adverse impacts on low-income and minority students. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) should remain an indicator system but should…

The success or failure of educational reform is discussed using Public Law 94-142 as a case study. Constraints on reform arise from the dominant ideology. Education is fundamentally a dependent institution, and efforts to reform it become an attempt to resolve issues in the broader social domain. (FG)

The focus of this 2-day hearing was on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Witnesses testified about the importance of the NAEP as a national assessment tool and the changes that the Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education (SESVE) might consider for the future. On March 13, the following persons…

Swedish reform in higher education during 1950-1980 is presented in a time-line perspective. Different stages are discussed in relation to a technical, bureaucratic and social model of educational planning. An evaluation approach with a life-line methodology is presented as well as some results. (Author/LMO)

A study of 13 national and state data collection programs examined the exclusion of students with disabilities from data collection programs evaluating student educational outcomes. Eight recommendations are offered for improving the collection and reporting of information in state and national data collection programs. (Author/CR)

Discusses the evolution of state-level assessment activities of college graduates' skills/outcomes to provide a context for a proposed national system and examines extent and types of testing in six states. Addresses the purposes of postsecondary assessment and draws conclusions as to institutional support needed to sustain a collaborative system.…

The development of a new national policy on achievement testing and how researchers sought to influence its development are chronicled. This development has been marked by the emergence of assessment advocates and educational researchers as two classes of assessment experts. Their differential effects on educational reform are explored. (SLD)

In 1991, the Kansas Association of School Boards began a program called Quest for Quality. The program is based on the belief that public schools must adjust to changes in children, families, communities, and economic and political conditions in the nation and the world. Quest for Quality also reaffirms the American school system's responsiveness…

Nine papers and associated remarks constituting the proceedings of the 1988 Norstar Conference concerning the assessment of performance in higher education, and two prefatory papers are presented. The prefatory papers are: (1) "A Context for Change: The Reform Movement in Higher Education" (Judith M. Holtan); and (2) "Models of…

The education system in Mauritius bears the influence of British education. Preprimary education is fee paying. Primary schooling is free and covers 6 years. This leads to a highly selective Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) which opens the doors of secondary schooling. Since 1991, secondary education is also free and compulsory. But 80% of…

Early childhood education in New Zealand includes the education of children from birth until entry into school. A national early childhood curriculum is expected to support the partnership between Maori people and the Crown established by the Treaty of Waitangi. This paper discusses the development of some national guidelines for early childhood…

Whatever the cause of present-day problems in American education, there is little doubt that proposals for national curricula and examinations are a response to widely-held perceptions of serious problems in the schools. Although national examinations have been proposed, there has been little consideration of their purposes and structures. The…