A hearing was held on the re-authorization of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). Mary R. Blanton, Vice Chair of the NAGB, spoke about its mission and plans for design changes under the re-authorization. She also outlined the role of the NAGB in overseeing the voluntary…

This guide provides information about the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) and Texas end-of-course examinations. It displays and explains examples of the TAAS and end-of-course standard and optional reports to assist school personnel in understanding and interpreting student performance data as required by the Texas Education Code. The…

This report by the National Study of Charter Schools provides descriptive information on charter schools that were operating in the 1998-99 school year. The document addresses three major questions: "How have charter schools been implemented?""Under what conditions, if any, have they improved student achievement?" and…

This paper provides a state-by-state overview of the 1999 legislative sessions. It includes a comparative analysis of state school-finance legislation from 1994 through 1999, and offers the results of an analysis that examined established and emergent trends. It claims that in 1999, 563 bills on school-finance legislation were passed and signed…

The report discusses outcomes assessment plans for Connecticut community colleges. It presents a variety of tools for use in assessing course, program, and general education goals. Demonstrations of competence, measures of quality, and justifications of costs have become essential components of institutional effectiveness. A good assessment plan…

Analysis of secondary data was used as a way to inform the researcher about the trends in her assessment practices over a 4-year period. This was an important initial step in an effort to develop and integrate high-quality classroom assessment tasks and make sense of assessment information for decision making. Scores from 26 groups of graduate and…

This document is an internal review of Nassau Community College (NCC) (New York). Using research material developed though institutional effectiveness studies, it incorporates comparisons with three peer groups for the 1996-97 academic year. Highlights include: (1) Nassau is more successful in the task of attracting first-time, full-time students…

This study addresses the validation of a holistic English assessment process used at Cabrillo College (California). The process of prompt development, scoring rubrics, reader training, scoring, and administration procedures have remained largely unchanged over the years. This report provides new evidence on content validity, consequential and cut…

This policy brief summarizes a longer report about state assessment and accountability systems in all 50 states. It examines the extent to which state policies meet the intent of federal policy, particularly Title I programs. It asks, "How are states measuring student performance and reporting it to the general public?" and "How are states holding…

A study was conducted to determine the attitudes of students and their parents about classroom assessment in one elementary school classroom in Scotland in the context of the Scottish "Assessment 5-14" document. Informal observation and student responses to mid-session and end-of-session questionnaires showed that students valued…

This report describes a program for increasing the targeted student's ability to demonstrate appropriate use of social skills in a cooperative base group setting. The targeted population consisted of elementary students in an urban middle class Midwestern community. The problem of lack of appropriate social skills was documented through teacher…

With accurate information, educators are better able to make effective decisions. Besides being used to assess student performance, a complete program of data collection and use can also show educators how management skills, individual learning styles, and other elements affect student achievement. This digest in Spanish provides an overview of…

Systemic reform of mathematics and science education in K-12 schools, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), was instituted in 1991. Built into the initiatives were guidelines for local (internal) evaluation of programs. This paper is a summary of the evaluation conceptualizations and efforts of one evaluator at the Fresno Unified…

This report is a summary of the state of Los Angeles City College (California) in 2002. It examines past goals and demonstrates completion of each, summarizes the state of the college, and looks ahead to the next 5 years by defining 8 priorities for the future. Los Angeles City College (LACC) President Mary Spangler describes how the College has…

The purpose of this document is to provide practical guidance and support for the design, development, and implementation of large-scale assessment systems that are grounded in research and best practice. Information is included about existing large-scale testing efforts, including national testing programs, state testing programs, and…