Over the past few years, students by the thousands have refused to take their state's standardized tests. This "opt-out" phenomenon has prompted debate in state legislatures and in Washington, putting states at risk of losing Title I funds. Advocates describe opt-out as a grassroots movement of parents concerned about overtesting,…

The ubiquitous use of standardized test results to make varied judgments about educators, students, and schools within the public school system raises concerns of validity. If the test results have not been validated for making multiple determinations, then the decisions made about educators, students, schools, and school districts based on the…

States increasingly are incorporating Kindergarten Entry Assessments (KEAs) into their comprehensive assessment systems with the goal of helping educators identify gaps in children's competencies, target instruction to children's individual needs, engage parents to better support their child's learning, and identify needs for expanding and…

States increasingly are incorporating Kindergarten Entry Assessments (KEAs) into their comprehensive assessment systems with the goal of helping educators identify gaps in children's competencies, target instruction to children's individual needs, engage parents to better support their child's learning, and identify needs for expanding and…

This report describes the implementation of policies and initiatives supported by Title I and Title II-A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) during the 2013-14 school year. Title I is one of the U.S. Department of Education's largest programs, accounting for $15 billion in the 2016 federal budget. Historically, Title I has…

This report describes the implementation of policies and initiatives supported by Title I and Title II-A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) during the 2013-14 school year. Title I is one of the U.S. Department of Education's largest programs, accounting for $15 billion in the 2016 federal budget. Historically, Title I has…

Since July 1978, RMC Research Corporation has been conducting a study concerned with several aspects of the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System (TIERS). Phases I and II included examination of technical and procedural issues, development of system materials, and assessment of state evaluation reports. Phase III was intended to be an…

A needs assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is presented. It deals with cost, design and technical issues, and utility. Suggestions include cost reduction via assessment schedule cutbacks and re-use of released NAEP exercises; and a shift from federal to private funding by selling NAEP exercises with interpretative…

An alternative approach to Chapter 1 accountability is proposed that would reward schools for reducing the number of students who fail to meet minimum standards on appropriate tests. Program improvement services would be increased and made available to all Chapter 1 schools. (SLD)

The 1988 Hawkins Stafford amendments to the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act required that the national evaluation and reporting system for Chapter 1 identify individual school projects in need of improvement. It is argued that the system is unsuited for this purpose, and suggestions for better indicators are provided. (SLD)

Options are presented for accountability in Chapter 1 schools and identification of low-performing schools. Two options are suggested that could move Chapter 1 toward more local control or toward more national control. In either case, the shortcomings of using normal curve equivalent gains on standardized tests should be recognized. (SLD)

The Advisory Committee on Testing in Chapter 1 evaluated current testing policies in the Chapter 1 program and offered the U.S. Department of Education advice on improvements and alternatives to the current system. After analyzing existing testing procedures, the committee concluded that Chapter 1's overreliance on a single testing method,…

A statistical comparison was made of two test batteries, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) and the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB), using a sample of 406 subjects (98 civilian high school students and 308 military recruit examinees). The sample was predominantly white and male. A first analyses described the sample and…

This paper was developed to help Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) administrators make informed decisions when selecting employability assessment tools. The paper focuses on one aspect of participant assessment: assessing the level of basic education skills of economically disadvantaged youth. The paper provides the following: (1) comparative…

Six documents were reviewed and recommendations relevant to the work of the Advisory Committee on Testing in Chapter 1 were summarized. A brief description of a framework for discussing different uses of assessment is followed by specific recommendations from each of the following sources: (1) "Working Paper: Reauthorization of the…