This report presents the findings from the second National Assessment Program--Civics and Citizenship, conducted under the auspices of the national council of education ministers, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). The National Assessment Program--Civics and Citizenship measures Year 6 and Year…

This report documents the work of the first national effort to design tests for the evaluation of the occupational competency of trade and industrial/technical teachers in 24 major occupational areas. Participating in the project were 717 specialists from industry, education, government, the military, and testing organizations. Tests were…

Neither teacher-made tests nor the Scholastic Aptitude Test are appropriate for measuring the attainment of national education goals. Most practitioners involved in discussions of national high-stakes examinations argue that new tests are needed. A new system that preserves state and local autonomy in education as it measures the attainment of…

Reflections on the proposal for creation and implementation of a national test are presented from the perspective of a test author. The most readily identified characteristic of the proposed national test is the intensity of debate surrounding it. Another easily identified characteristic is the anticipated effect. While proponents expect higher…

Student learning is the bottom line for nearly all efforts to establish a national test system. Major efforts in this area are summarized in this paper. The various efforts seem to move ahead independently, but some common ideas include: (1) creating a national assessment system rather than a single test; (2) developing more than multiple-choice…

The experience of the Canadian provinces with large-scale testing programs is reviewed to suggest answers to questions currently discussed in the United States regarding the proposed national system of achievement testing. In the Canadian provinces, tests are linked to provincial curricula. Standards and assessments are not set by experts with no…