The Wisconsin legislature has required the Department of Public Instruction to adopt or approve standardized tests for statewide use to measure student attainment of knowledge and concepts in grades 4, 8, and 10. Although school districts generally gave high ratings to the contents of TerraNova (McGraw Hill), the testing instrument most recently…

Describes the cash award system Indiana developed to reward schools for relative improvement in language arts proficiency, mathematics proficiency, overall achievement performance, and attendance. The article looks at problems with the program, how the program was implemented, how money was used, and positive and negative rhetoric. (SM)

In 1986 the Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation directing the Legislative Research Commission to appoint a special subcommittee, the Special Subcommittee on Essential Skills Testing, to study the Kentucky Essential Skills Testing Program (KEST) and to make recommendations concerning the program. This report presents the findings and…

These combined proceedings summarize presentations of two conference programs designed to address state-mandated student achievement issues. Dr. Terrel Bell delivered the keynote speech at a teleconference focusing on a broad perspective of competency testing. He discussed testing problems, as well as positive aspects such as comparison, diagnosis…

Intended to help Arkansas schools implement its 1980 State Basic Skills Improvement Plan, this booklet identifies basic skills to be measured by the state and makes suggestions for incorporating these skills into the curriculum. The first section explains the Educational Assessment Act of 1979 establishing a statewide basic skills assessment…

An overview is provided of the issues involved in the development of programs to assess institutional effectiveness, particularly as they relate to California community colleges. After part I reviews the trends that have made institutional accountability a legislative concern nationwide, parts II and III consider various definitions of…

This report briefly describes the tests, subtests, test scores, and reports that fulfill the requirements of Arizona state legislation regarding educational accountability. It summarizes the fall 1994 Arizona statewide results by grade and across grades. Discussions of student achievement strengths and weaknesses by grade level and demographic…

For the past 8 years, Research for Better Schools, Inc. (RBS) has prepared an analysis of state-wide trends in student achievement in the mid-Atlantic states (i.e., Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). For this year, instead of quantitatively examining trends in student achievement scores, RBS decided to…

Testing programs enacted by the state legislature are changing and improving Florida's educational system in five areas: (1) setting standards for students; (2) making schools more accountable; (3) creating growth through competiton; (4) evaluating educational programs; and (5) assuring the competency of educators. (BS)

The requirement that home schooled students score at or above the 40th percentile on a nationally standardized test runs counter to several widely accepted principles of measurement. A single score should not be used alone in decision making, and there is no evidence that this is a valid use of the test. In addition, the 40th percentile is not an…

Shortcomings in the current student assessment program in Georgia are identified, proposed revisions are described, and additional changes are recommended. Georgia educators have complained that curricula place too much emphasis on basic skills, to the detriment of subjects like science and social studies. Reform legislation in Georgia has…

State-mandated student testing in Ohio is a combination of three different initiatives: (1) competency-based education (CBE) assessment; (2) achievement and ability testing; and (3) proficiency testing. This report describes the current testing requirements and some of the characteristics of each of these types of assessment. CBE assessment was…

The Missouri Mastery and Achievement Tests (MMAT) were developed as a result of the Excellence in Education Act of 1985, which required the state department of education to identify core competencies and key skills in reading/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies/civics and to test a sample of students annually. State-level data…

This publication is the fourth issue of a report required by the North Carolina School Improvement and Accountability Act. It presents information that is related primarily to the outcomes of education based on student achievement with the intention of giving policy makers and decision makers the information needed to improve achievement. It…

Results of the administration of the Nevada Proficiency Examination Program in 1988-89 are presented. The program, established by legislation in 1977 and amended in 1983 and 1987, provided for the administration of examinations of proficiency and achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics before the completion of grades 3, 6, 9, and 12. It…