President Obama is calling for an increase in educational attainment among citizens of the United States (Obama, 2009). Prior to this national call, Washington State recognized the need to increase the educational attainment of its residents to maintain a globally competitive economy. By 2018, 67 percent of jobs in Washington will require a…

This report provides initial results of Illinois' Shifting Gears Initiative that operated between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2009. This mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) evaluation sought to accomplish three goals: (1) to assess program and student outcomes for two models (adult education and developmental education) for two target groups…

This report describes Maryland's latest approaches to dealing with restructuring schools and other schools in NCLB improvement. Information for this report was obtained between September 2008 and January 2009 from interviews with Maryland State Department of Education officials and with administrators in three Maryland districts: Anne Arundel…

The objectives of the first year of the Wisconsin Assessment Program were: (1) to develop and refine the statewide assessment processes including instrument development, instrument administration, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of results; (2) to provide a preliminary profile of how well students demonstrate their knowledge and skills…

This report contains the results of the first statewide educational learner pilot assessment in Wisconsin. The objectives of the program were: (1) to develop and refine the statewide assessment process including instrument development, instrument administration, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of the results; (2) to provide a…

The purpose of the tenth grade limited pilot project of the 1975-76 Michigan Educational Assessment Program is to perfect instruments, testing, and reporting procedures for a future statewide assessment at the tenth grade level. The development of assessment materials for the grade ten assessment program began with the selection of performance…

This report contains an interpretive analysis of individual test items used in the 1973 Wisconsin State Mathematics Assessment at grades 3 and 7. The sampling procedures, organization, interpretation of data, limitations, and useful definitions of the test, and test results are discussed. The analysis includes an evaluation of each test item and…

The reading assessment undertaken by the Department of Public Instruction in May 1973 was a pilot study. As such its primary purpose was to provide information for future assessment instruments, administration procedures, sampling procedures, and data analysis alternatives. Thus, this document contains a critical examination of the pilot…

The case study of a school involved in a pilot study of the use of a state-mandated teacher evaluation system as a tool for professional development is presented. Eight principles that can be used to guide future school improvement efforts grounded in classroom-based assessments of teaching and learning are identified. (SLD)

In 1988, whether the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)--the "Nation's Report Card"--could become a report card for the states was studied. A trial assessment program was authorized to determine whether state assessments following the NAEP format could produce reliable and useful estimates of educational progress. This…

The original National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been criticized for its limited ability to provide information that is useful at a variety of levels. As a result, Congress authorized a voluntary NAEP Trial State Assessment Program for the assessment of mathematics at grade 8 in 1990, reading at grade 4 in 1992, and mathematics…

A meta-assessment is provided of 15 pilot projects aimed at demonstrating how student outcomes of various kinds can be used to assess the effectiveness of general education and baccalaureate degree programs. The Student Outcomes Assessment projects funded by Academic Program Improvement grants of the California state university system, have…

A model is presented for including student outcome measures on teacher evaluation systems when there are needs for both formative and summative evaluation data. The experiences of Kentucky and Georgia provided bases for the development of the dual purpose assessment model. Pilot tests in Kentucky and Georgia were specific to the top-down…

Reported are the execution and outcomes of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) Performance Funding Project at Tennessee Technological University, a pilot project seeking to explore the question of whether it is desirable and possible to allocate state funds to community colleges and universities on a performance effectiveness…

Connecticut is developing a new grade 10 statewide testing program known as the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT). The CAPT reflects the changing nature of standardized assessment by using a variety of assessment formats including performance tasks, open-ended questions, and multiple-choice tests. This paper describes the research that…