The previous issue of "Blueprint" reported significant variability among state standards for education. Such variability means that depending where a student attends school, he might not cover the same material in a course called Algebra I, or Algebra II, or Grade 4, or Grade 6. Many citizens and leaders understand that having a single set of…

Assessments were an important tool recommended by "A Nation at Risk;" however, a generation after that report, many of the problems with student assessment still remain. This article offers brief reflections on three somewhat overlapping but enduring issues in educational assessment: validity, construct underrepresentation in outcome measures in…

This article describes the Canadian education system and provincial/territorial, national, and international large-scale assessment (LSA) programmes that currently operate within this large multicultural country. We highlight the policy implications of LSA programmes within Canada's 10 provinces and three northern territories, and how the country…

Equity in assessment concerns all educational authorities and practitioners. While educators commonly consider issues of equity in terms of accommodations for students with special needs, or addressing cultural difference, equity issues in educational assessment have emerged outside these bases. This paper examines equity assessment issues,…

Exploring student test, homework, and other assessment scores is a challenge for most teachers, especially when attempting to identify cross-assessment weaknesses and produce final course grades. During the course, teachers need to identify subject weaknesses in order to help students who are struggling with a particular topic. This identification…

Exploring the complicated issues of assessment in the arts, the authors discuss assessment of arts education and arts programs from a qualitative perspective: experiential, naturalistic, and ethnographic interpretation. With special attention to the practices of teaching, learning, and administration of education in the arts, quality is sought…

This essay is a critical reflection on educational standardization, particularly the standardization of assessment flowing down from major international assessment projects like the OECD's Project for International Student Assessment to national and sub-national school systems. I argue that the establishment of an increasingly uniform metric to…

Learning outcomes have become widely used in higher education, but also misused to the point of being controversial and a bureaucratic burden. This paper distinguishes three kinds of learning outcome found in current literature: (1) those used in individual teaching events; (2) those specified for modules or short courses; and (3) those specified…

Effective observation and diagnosis of student learning can be greatly assisted by 21st century technologies. This article lists five practical tools to help educators measure student progress: (1) Clickers; (2) Online quizzes; (3) Web-based surveys; (4) Digital logs; and (5) Spreadsheets.

The assessment instrument to be used with seven monographs relating to quality circles, this booklet is used to evaluate quality circle competencies for participants attending Quality Circle Training Institutes. The assessment instrument contains nine competency areas for evaluating effectiveness of participants on a scale from 1 (ineffective) to…

In this policy brief, the author explores the problems with attainment measures when it comes to evaluating performance at the school level, and explores the best uses of value-added measures. These value-added measures, the author writes, are useful for sorting out-of-school influences from school influences or from teacher performance, giving…

This policy forum proceedings document contains a short introduction section that describes the current status of virtual public school programs in general and special education programs in particular. Next, this document provides a state-of-the-nation report that describes the exponential growth these programs and the evolving policy issues for…

Explore successful models of intervention. No Child Left Behind has set the high expectation that every child meet grade level expectations. This publication synthesizes the research on intervention programs and best practices related to mathematical instructional pedagogy and differentiation to assist teachers, schools, and school districts in…

This dissertation is comprised of three essays exploring the performance of students on standardized tests in public schools. Since the passage of the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB) in 2002, public schools have been subject to penalties for poor student achievement. In particular, NCLB requires states to measure reading and math test…

The NAESP (National Association of Elementary School Principals) Platform consists of a summary of all resolutions adopted by business meetings and, since 1974, by Delegate Assemblies. Each resolution presented for action by the Delegate Assembly carries with it a rationale for its adoption as well as the specific area and section of the Platform…