This historical critique of high-stakes testing in reading focuses on selected events from three historical movements: 1) the history of standardized testing, 2) the history of standardized reading tests, and 3) the history of high-stakes testing. These three interrelated histories have produced the high-stakes, standardized reading tests used in…

In recent years, U.S. schools have seen a growth in the number of special education paraprofessionals employed to serve special education students as well as a growth in the roles these individuals are expected to play in schools. In addition, with passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities…

Interest in applied performance testing and concern about the quality of the high school diploma are finding a common ground: graduation requirements. A competency is a complex capability applicable in real life situations, and can be used as program objectives in a competency-based, criterion-referenced program. In such a program, applied…