This book is a practical guide to help parents understand educational assessment. It shows how good student assessment actually enhances learning, and it provides a foundation for building community support for effective practices. It offers advice about improving communication between home and school, and explains how to build strong…

A descriptive study was conducted to examine the current assessment practices of teachers in Ohio. The specific aim of the study was to gain an understanding of the extent to which teachers use traditional versus alternative forms of assessment techniques in their classrooms. Participants were 625 teachers from kindergarten through grade 12. The…

In 1990, the National Education Goals Panel--six governors, four members of the President's administration, and four members of Congress--enlisted the aid of six resource groups (RGs) of educators, business people, and technical experts in identifying: which indicators best measure progress toward six national education goals, data for the panel's…

The Riley Inventory of Basic Learning Skills (RIBLS) is a group test that assesses 12 learning process skills in 5 general modalities (visual, auditory, verbal, kinesthetic, and abstract). The RIBLS is intended for administration to groups or individuals from age 6 to adulthood in two levels: a lower level for those who cannot read or are under…

Two of the most popular assessment instruments for measuring college student educational outcomes are the College Outcome Measures Program (COMP) of the American College Testing Program (1987) and the Academic Profile of the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Characteristics of these tests were compared, and the sensitivity of each test to…

Findings of a paper that compared three analytic models for classifying public schools are presented in this paper. The first model is the traditional additive multiple linear regression model that assumes the use of a compensatory policy in assigning weights to school attributes. The second is an adaptation of Coomb's (1964) conjunctive model…

In this paper, algorithms are described for obtaining the maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters in log-linear models. Modified versions of the iterative proportional fitting and Newton-Raphson algorithms are described that work on the minimal sufficient statistics rather than on the usual counts in the full contingency table. This is…

In April 1987, the Austin school board approved the current student assignment plan, which returned most elementary students to their neighborhood schools and created 16 predominantly minority schools with many students from low-income families. This report summarizes the outcomes of a 5-year plan, "A Plan for Educational Excellence," in…

In the spring of 1991 a two-part questionnaire was mailed to a nationwide sample of 100 uppersecondary teachers in England. Usable responses were received from 72 teachers. The purposes of this study were the following: (1) to describe the impact of the 1988 British Reform Act on Education; (2) to determine teacher perceptions in selected publicly…

The impact of state-mandated testing on an urban school district in New Jersey is examined in this paper, which describes the evolution of the testing program and its shift in emphasis from individual student assessment to its use as the primary indicator of school success or failure. To meet state certification standards, 75 percent of the third,…

Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence (MI) theory is an alternative to the unitary concept of general intelligence, but it lacks a practical, reliable, and valid method of assessment. The Hillside Assessment of Perceived Intelligences (HAPI) is an attempt to measure the seven constructs of MI theory with an objective, psychometrically sound…

This report documents the activities undertaken to evaluate the state-sponsored prekindergarten program for at-risk 4-year-olds conducted by the Saginaw, Michigan school district. Entitled Michigan Early Childhood Education Preschool (MECEP), this program was serving 280 children at the beginning of the 1993 school year. The process evaluation…

This handbook addresses the complex and expanding vocabulary of performance assessment and measurement by providing a glossary of related terms and lists of resources for the student, practitioner, and policymaker. Performance assessment includes all forms of such assessment from multiple choice and paper-and-pencil tests to alternative…

This annual Fact Book is a compendium of statistics and information on a variety of subjects and issues concerning education in California. It is designed to aid reporters covering education, and to serve as a reference for educators, legislators, and the general public. The 1993-94 Fact Book contains information on numerous issues: fingertip…

The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) conducted a study of educational needs in its member states: Alaska Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The 1992 Regional Needs Assessment had three objectives: (1) to identify current and emerging issues affecting educators in the Northwest; (2) to identify research and development needs…