How are teacher pension benefits funded? Under traditional plans, the full cost of career teachers' benefits far exceeds the contributions designated for them. The gap between the two has three pieces, which may (with some license) be mnemonically tagged the three R's of pension funding: "redistribution," "return," and…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act required states to adopt accountability systems measuring student proficiency on state-administered exams. The federal legislation contained several strict requirements for NCLB implementation, such as escalating student proficiency targets that reach 100% proficiency by 2014. But it also gave states…

Answers criticisms by Mary Anne Bunda, Ernest House, and Mary Kennedy. Discusses, among other issues, legal authorization for the use of higher quality evaluation designs and the use of evaluation research results. (GC)

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) must use sampling techniques that produce data which are representative on national, state, and local levels. The validity of findings is enhanced when state and district comparisons are made. Multiple measures will allow the diagnosis of strengths and weaknesses. The data should be…

Heightened demand for testing is seen as a function of public skepticism regarding the quality of public education. Discusses developments and trends in the following areas: (1) minimum competency testing versus higher order skills testing; (2) kindergarten and first grade readiness testing; (3) portfolio-based assessment; and (4) teacher…

Inferences that spending money (high average per pupil expenditure) does not improve education are questioned because of obvious differences in cost of living; in-state differences; differences in costs and demographic differences; and comparing average measures with measures from a nonrandom sample (Scholastic Aptitude Test scores). (SLD)