Although there has always been some form of accountability in education, in the last decade the American educational system has instituted a new kind of accountability. This accountability has sprung from increased federal involvement in education, states' needs to justify increased educational expenditures, and increased citizen involvement in…

This brief addresses the benefits and concerns raised by the use of high stakes testing as the centerpiece of new accountability systems. It offers some recommendations for policymakers seeking to incorporate such tests into state accountability systems. High stakes tests can clarify and establish challenging performance expectations for students,…

Alignment of content standards, performance standards, and assessments is crucial. This guide contains information to assist states and districts in aligning their assessment systems to their content and performance standards. It includes a review of current literature, both published and fugitive. The research is woven together with a few basic…

This paper focuses specifically on paper and pencil testing as a tool contributing to a quality teaching force. Information is presented for those who have responsibility or interest in state level policies for using such tests to promote educational quality. Using institutional stages of a teacher's career as an organizing scheme for test use,…

The Nation's Report Card, formally known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), has been informing the United States about the state of learning since its first survey was conducted in 1969. This report describes how this project, mandated by Congress and funded by the Department of Education, has evolved. It describes the…

This report discusses the outcomes of a survey that questioned states about their development of alternate assessments for students with disabilities who cannot participate, even with accommodations, in state or district-wide assessment programs. In the survey, states were asked about a variety of developmental features of their alternate…

The standards-based educational reform initiatives of the 1990's call for assessment innovations to support high standards. To document state assessment policies and to develop policy recommendations for assessment innovations, the George Washington University Center for Excellence and Equity in Education surveyed state assessment directors in…

This report is aimed at helping Congress: (1) better understand the functions, history, capabilities, limitations, uses, and misuses of educational tests; (2) learn more about the promises and pitfalls of new assessment methods and technologies; and (3) identify and weigh policy options affecting educational policy. To prepare this report, the…

Since the approval of the Basic Skills Improvement Policy in 1978, the Massachusetts Department of Education has been developing tests and alternative forms for the assessment of student achievement in five basic skills content areas: reading, writing, mathematics, listening, and speaking. Because of the lack of previous research on which to draw…

In the context of the development of a possible national mathematics assessment, a study was conducted to determine whether a test item characterization scheme could be created based on a state policy document that serves as the driving force behind large-scale performance assessment. Further considerations were whether such an item…

Considerable evidence suggests that policy-makers, educators, the media, and the public do not understand national and state test results. The problems appear to be two-fold: the scales on which scores are reported seem confusing, and the report forms themselves are often too complex for the intended audiences. This paper addresses two topics. The…

The Arizona Student Assessment Program (ASAP) epitomizes the principle on which measurement-driven reform is based, "You get what you assess." This policy study examines the ideologies and intentions of groups instrumental in the creation and implementation of a performance-based assessment reform. The study was conducted by interviewing…

Test misuse is neither isolated nor recent. It is a problem that cannot be easily solved. While test misuse may be reduced or managed, it cannot be eliminated. Test misuse has cut across America's social, economic, and political institutions, including schools. The most flagrant abuse of a test is what happens to the results of the Scholastic…

Findings from a state survey about practices in testing students of limited English proficiency (LEP) confirm a general lack of policies and guidelines relating to the standardized achievement testing of LEP students. Concern for LEP students in testing may reflect a general interest in bilingual education. (SLD)

In 1991 Arizona embarked on a program to change schools and make them more accountable for educational achievement. The instrument of reform was an assessment program known as the Arizona Student Assessment Program (ASAP), the most notable feature of which was a performance assessment that was added to an already extensive battery of…