This document contains seven policy papers and two comments that focus on those aspects of the No Child Left Behind Act involving state academic standards and testing programs; the intersection of state testing and national assessment; tracking of yearly progress; and accountability at the state, district, and school levels. Papers include: (1)…

The inclusion of students with disabilities in state and district assessments rests on a fundamental belief: all children can learn. This belief centers on all children who receive educational services, even those whose teachers and therapists work with them at home or in the hospital. The purpose of this chapter is to clarify the rationale for…

Since its inception in 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been the nation's leading indicator of what American students know and can do. The focus of this chapter is on how NAEP, as it exists today, may be useful to educators, in particular four aspects of NAEP that may be of wide interest and use. This chapter…

The balance between conformity to state standards and creativity in providing for individual differences in the classroom is discussed. With the current emphases on accountability and standards, learning opportunities for students are supposed to be aligned with state-mandated objectives. This may lead to a situation in which rote learning,…

The paper summarizes the concept of discrimination underlying the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on employment testing and the guidelines basic requirements. The desirability of applying them to age discrimination and the difficulties involved are illustrated and discussed. (Author/AG)

Presents a brief history of objective tests and their characteristics and limitations as compared to essay tests. (CP)

Article describes problems encountered by school districts over publication of student reading test scores, and lists ways to insure correct test result interpretation. (SP)

The authors describe a project which explores the potential of video tape presentations as a substitute for the standard paper-and-pencil test format in the hope that the "videotape presentation might open new prospects for truly 'equalizing' testing." (Authors/AK)

Considered recommendations made by R. Linn (2000) and made a preliminary determination of the degree of cohesion between the Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment, and Accountability (ACTAAP) program and those recommendations. The ACTAAP appears to be an exemplary program in the early stages of development. (SLD)

A description is proved of guidelines for physical fitness testing of older adults and procedures for administering the functional fitness test battery created by the AAHPERD Fitness Task Force. (IAH)

The No Child Left Behind Act sanctions the use of NAEP scores to confirm state testing results. The U.S. Department of Education, as test developer, is responsible to set forth how NAEP scores are to be interpreted and used. Thus far, the Department has not published a clear set of guidelines for using NAEP achievement level scores to conduct a…

The 2006 GED[R] Testing Program Statistical Report is the 49th annual report in the program's 65-year history of providing a second opportunity to adults without a high school diploma to earn their jurisdiction's General Educational Development (GED) credential, and, as a result, advance their educational, personal, and professional aspirations.…

A STUDY DESIGNED TO IDENTIFY SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE RESPONSES ON THE GATES ADVANCED PRIMARY READING TEST AND THE KINDS OF RESPONSES OBTAINED FROM AN INFORMAL READING INVENTORY (IRI) IS REPORTED. SUBJECTS WERE 65 THIRD-GRADE PUPILS IN WEST BABYLON, NEW YORK. PUPILS AT THE SAME INSTRUCTIONAL LEVEL SCORED HIGHER IN THE RECOGNITION TEST…

The city-wide standardized testing program of Madison Public Schools was reviewed by a committee of a cross-section of school system educators as part of a total effort to design a testing program more sensitive to the needs of the system. As a result, standardized testing was reduced to reading (grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8) and mathematics (grade…

THE STUDY MEASURED THE EFFECTS OF TRAINING IN A SERIES OF CLOZE PROCEDURE EXERCISES UPON READING COMPREHENSION. STUDENTS WERE INSTRUCTED TO FILL IN BLANK SPACES IN WRITTEN TEXT. THIS ACT OF CLOSURE ITSELF WAS CONSIDERED TO BE A NONOVERT REINFORCEMENT. STUDENTS (1,411) IN 49 CLASSROOMS PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. A CROSS-SECTIONAL GROUP WAS STUDIED…