Large-scale performance assessment programs are a longstanding reform tool. However, standard setting can be a challenge for assessment programs that use primarily non-standardized assessments. The purpose of this paper is to extend this field of research by explaining the standard setting methodology applied to one more recent instantiation of a…

These are the appendices for the report, "Ohio's Plan to Raise Literacy Achievement." They include: (1) Ohio's State Literacy Team; (2) Ohio's Theory of Action; (3) Coaching in Literacy (Ohio's Coaching Model); (4) Emergent Literacy Skills that Relate to Later Forms of Conventional Reading and Writing; (5) Nelp Literacy Variables; (6)…

This document is designed to show the connection between the required state-written curriculum (courses of study) and the state-tested curriculum (the Alabama High School Graduation Examination and the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition [Stanford 9]) in English Language Arts. The document illustrates that courses of study content standards…

This collection of essays addresses the issues that have arisen in the development and implementation of national and state standards in science, mathematics, history, economics, and the English language arts. The chapters are: (1) "The 1997 Mathematics Standards War in California" (Hung-Hsi Wu); (2) "Judging State Standards for…

This report presents a description of state policies regarding the participation of English language learners (ELLs) in statewide assessment programs during the 1998-1999 school year. The data collected included descriptions of policies: (1) for the inclusion and exemption of ELLs; (2) regarding the allowance or prohibition of accommodations in…

The Fordham Foundation commissioned experts in each of the five core academic subjects (English, history, geography, mathematics, and science) to develop criteria for excellence and apply them to as many state standards as could be obtained. This summary report compiles the numerical scores and letter grades that each state earned in every…

The Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) is a mandated statewide assessment program that targets four core content areas. English language arts, including reading and writing, and mathematics are given to students in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10; science and social studies are given to students in grades 4, 6, 8, and 11. The DSTP reading and…

The consequences of large state testing are often uniformity of expectations for achievement. The largest impact of higher standards, then, are realized by traditionally disenfranchised student populations, particularly the least affluent who are most likely to bear the yoke of low expectation. This paper advances S. Messick's (1981) fundamental…

In 1998, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation reviewed state academic standards in English language arts/reading, history, geography, mathematics, and science--the five essential subjects identified at the 1998 "education summit." Because many states have changed their standards in the past 2 years, the Foundation has evaluated them again. The news is…

This report contains a brief summary of the statewide findings of the 1974 Delaware Educational Assessment Program (DEAP). A number of reports and publications, prepared by the Department of Public Instruction, provide detailed analyses of the data. The body of this report gives a short description of the program, some comparisons of the…

This manual documents the technical aspects of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). In May 1999, Massachusetts public school students in grades 4, 8, and 10 participated in the second annual administration of the MCAS tests in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science & Technology. This report provides information…

This document provides information on average student performance at the state level on end-of-grade (grades 3 through 8 in reading and mathematics and grades 4 through 8 in social studies) multiple-choice tests and all end-of-course (high school courses) tests administered in 1994-95 as part of the North Carolina Testing Program. State-level…

A study used four statistical item bias analysis strategies to determine the French cross-cultural validity of the Maine Educational Assessment, a standardized test administered in six content areas to students in grades 4, 8, and 11. Analysis was performed on eighth grade pupil performance in test year 1988-89, in the areas of the 100 common…

This pamphlet explains a child's Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) "Student Report for Parents/Guardians." In spring 1999, more than 210,000 students from grades 4, 8, and 10 in Massachusetts took the state's MCAS tests. All public students in grades 4, 8, and 10 are required to participate, and the Education Reform…

The bilingual education programs of Connecticut are described. The 12 programs serviced 11,482 students in 1985-86; 93% of the program participants were dominant in Spanish. Seventy-one percent were in kindergarten through grade 5. Over 3,000 were new entrants to the program in that year. About 1 in 5 students in bilingual education were late…