Background/Context: There is a deep and yawning chasm between the world of tests and testing practices as they ought to be and the actual tests and testing practices now imposed on American students, educators, and schools. That chasm of theory and practice is a function of the dominant paradigm of educational reform, with its theory of action…

Educational assessment and, more broadly, educational research in the United States have entered into an era characterized by a dramatic increase in the prevalence and importance of test score use in accountability systems. This volume covers a selection of contemporary issues about testing science and practice that impact the nation's public…

Standardized tests cover acquired knowledge in reading, mathematics, and English. To avoid misuse of standardized tests school districts should use tests to diagnose individual learning needs and improve programs; and administer tests once a year in the fall semester so results help guide learning plans for students Contains a glossary of basic…

Discusses factors which lead to the overuse of and overreliance on standardized tests in the United States. (MM)

Building student abilities for taking standardized tests has certainly become an issue as testing has become increasingly important in the U.S. educational system. How much emphasis should a school or district place on educating students to do well on such tests? It is certainly possible to spend too much school time learning to take tests, and…

Issues involved in linking the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to the proposed Voluntary National Tests (VNTs) are discussed. Linkage is used to refer to procedures intended to permit scores from two different tests that are designed to measure the same variable to be expressed on the same scale. There are substantial…

Most stakeholders in higher education are deeply interested in improving student learning outcomes, but there is disagreement about whether standardized testing programs will contribute to this goal. Plans for standardized testing of college students in public institutions appear to be on the rise. Eight to 10 states currently engage in…

Analyzed questions related to education from a statewide poll of citizens in Arkansas. Overall, views of Arkansans are roughly aligned with those of the United States as a whole. About half of the 775 respondents support school vouchers, most believe teacher pay raises should be related to student performance, and more than three-fifths believe…

Reviews the behaviors sampled, test administration, scoring, norms, reliability, and validity of the Basic Achievement Skills Individual Screener (BASIS), an individually administered test that measures skill development in reading, mathematics, spelling, and writing. (BL)

A comparison of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences Examination (BPSE) results with student performance evaluations in core clerkships, institutional and community externships, didactic and clinical courses, and related basic science coursework revealed the BPSE does not predict student performance during clinical instruction. (MSE)

A survey of school districts across the state of Illinois in 1999 focused on three dimensions of local assessment practices: (1) why districts give tests; (2) the tests they give; and (3) what they do with test results. Telephone interviews were conducted with district assessment coordinators or superintendents from 75 school districts, including…

This paper makes the case that the standards-based reform movement is too limited an approach to rely on in educational reform, and that there is a set of hard facts that must be faced if there is to be any significant improvement in student achievement. These facts are the attitudes, practices, and conditions that are so embedded in culture and…

This report reviews the experience of the last couple of decades in education reform and the use of standardized testing during that time. It tells of success and achievement and of missteps and problems in the implementation of all the elements of standards-based reform. The report suggests that getting education reform on course involves the…

The search for solutions to the perceived failures of American education of recent years indicates that the public senses there is something wrong with the educational system. Educators must examine testing in light of the fact that schools are getting poor results in terms of student achievement and, perhaps, change their view of what tests…

This report focuses on the standards and test schools used to measure student and school performance in Texas. The primary method for evaluating the academic achievement of Texas public school students is a standardized test called the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). A review of TAAS scores and their uses suggests that the TAAS test…