This discussion of educational trends of interest to school superintendents focuses on three issues: (1) the general decline of birth rates, school enrollments, staff, facilities, and expenditures for instruction; (2) the increase in mandated assessments and programs brought on by declining academic performance and political influences; (3) the…

THE AUTHOR POINTS OUT PROBLEMS IN TEST RESEARCH AND INTERPRETATION, SOME OF WHICH ARE DUE TO CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE FINDINGS OF THE DATA ANALYST WHO IS RESTRICTED TO BASING HIS DECISIONS ON SELECTED DATA ONLY, AND THE TEST INTERPRETER WHO IS AWARE OF VARIABLE VALIDITIES OF SUCH UNTESTED FACTORS AS SITUATIONAL ANXIETY, PERSONALITY, MOTHER-TONGUE…

The report describes the organization and implementation of an evaluation of the Rose Tree Media Social Studies Curriculum. A questionnaire designed to gather teachers' assessment required response to twelve sets of statements reflecting sound curriculum procedures. Teams of teachers constructed tests summarizing the curriculum of each year…

Discusses which kinds of data educators should respect and which they should reject. Asserts that most state accountability tests fail to produce the kinds of data that will improve teaching and learning. Teachers can get the data they need from their own instructionally useful classroom assessments. (WFA)

Six research papers that have been published by the staff of the Center for Statewide Educational Assessment at Educational Testing Service are presented. In "A Selection of Self Concept Measures," Joan Knapp explores questions of defining and measuring self concept. In another paper, she examines some problems of measuring attitudes toward…

In July 2001, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) agreed to the development of assessment instruments and key performance measures for reporting on student skills, knowledge and understandings in primary science. It directed the newly established Performance Measurement and Reporting Taskforce…