This paper presents a conceptual framework for organizing and relating the many confusing concepts associated with continuous assessment (CA) practices. Curriculum-based criterion-referenced CA is shown to have two major components: formative and summative assessment of student learning. The nature of these components and their interrelationships…

For the past 8 years, Research for Better Schools, Inc. (RBS) has prepared an analysis of state-wide trends in student achievement in the mid-Atlantic states (i.e., Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). For this year, instead of quantitatively examining trends in student achievement scores, RBS decided to…

Among the provisions of the British Educational Reform Act of 1988 are arrangements for a national system of student assessment using nationally provided tests (SATs) in most subjects and formal teacher assessment to complement information from the externally provided assessment tasks. How teachers are reacting to these reforms was studied through…

Many current efforts to develop large-scale science assessments involve hands-on tasks because of their presumed power to elicit and measure scientific reasoning skills. An analysis of the processes in which students engage while responding to such assessment is needed in order to discover the specific forms of reasoning that tasks elicit. This…

The paradox of site-based school management with use of standardized tests or instructional management systems that restrict teacher choices was evident in one school district in North Carolina in which measurement of student success has centered on student performance on state-mandated tests. A study was conducted to see if students whose…

This report presents Fall, 1991 results of the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Testing which tests incoming college students and evaluates collegiate remedial courses. A summary of the findings notes that freshmen recorded poorer results on every section of the test compared to 1990 results, that in verbal skills 42 percent lacked…

The purposes of the survey described in this paper were to: (1) produce a database on state efforts to develop systems for assessing educational outcomes; (2) assess state needs for solutions to technical and implementation problems; (3) identify important state-level information and existing databases; and (4) assess efforts to design a…

Technical problems with norm-referenced achievement testing that can lead to the erroneous evaluation of schools for Chapter 1 Program improvement is discussed, and an alternative testing model is presented. The history of Chapter 1 testing and evaluation policies is briefly reviewed, and problems with the norm-referenced model are explored. Data…

This booklet is designed to help teachers integrate curriculum, strategies, evaluation, and learners' needs within the context of the larger education picture and to encourage teachers to revisit the fundamentals of education in light of professional teaching experience. The booklet includes places for the reader to record his/her own thoughts and…

Each year the New Mexico State Department of Education and the state's 88 school districts publish report cards that provide information on the operation and performance of the schools and characteristics of its students. This report is the state-level report card, providing narrative and statistical information on an array of educational…

Papers in this volume are: "National funding for the New Hampshire Limited-English-Proficient (LEP) Student Identification Project. Through this program, states are mandated to collect information on LEP students and report data to the U.S. Secretary of Education. This report is intended to highlight the growth of the project over the past 3…

This report presents the results of a 2-year collaborative effort by the Illinois State Board of Education and 2 independent evaluators to assess early childhood programs in various sites throughout Illinois, and to provide models for other schools or community programs developing and expanding services for young children. The evaluation…

In 1987, Seattle Central Community College (SCCC), in Washington, began a 5-year project to gather evidence on SCCC's success in imparting knowledge, skills, and values to its students. This report represents a compilation of major assessment activities and provides brief descriptions of 10 studies on outcomes grouped by specific dimensions of…

Anchored instruction and anchored assessment are described and illustrated through a mathematics problem from the Jasper problem solving series developed at Vanderbilt University in Nashville (Tennessee). Anchored instruction is instruction situated in a context complex enough to provide meaning and reasons for why information is useful. Problems…

From 1980 to 1991, the University of Alberta undertook systematic reviews of all its academic and support units mostly for program improvement purposes, but also to acquire information for planning and budget decisions. This report responds to a 1988 request to examine the University's 1980-1988 experience with program reviews and to recommend…