Standardized tests cover acquired knowledge in reading, mathematics, and English. To avoid misuse of standardized tests school districts should use tests to diagnose individual learning needs and improve programs; and administer tests once a year in the fall semester so results help guide learning plans for students Contains a glossary of basic…

Discusses the use of distance education for preservice, inservice, and continuing-teacher training; reviews quality assessment (examination and impact studies), conditions for the development of quality (internal and external constraints), and quality assurance systems; and provides examples of quality distance-education programs for teachers in…

Describes how computer-aided assessment can provide a means of preserving formative assessment within the curriculum at a fraction of the time-cost involved with written work. Illustrates a variety of computer-aided assessment styles. (Author/ASK)

Claims that assessment is the process by which educators know if they are actually doing what they intend to do in the classroom. Presents an overview of the history, the present, and the future of educational assessment to enable readers working with communication assessment issues to make more informed decisions. (NH)

A follow-up study interviewed Head Start parents and children after their transition to public schools. Interview responses indicated that parents felt Head Start contributed to their children's overall development and readiness for school, helped their children with special needs, and improved parents' own knowledge and skills. (SD)

Studied the validity of alternative methods for assessing the spelling achievements of students in grades 2 through 7. Results from 760 third graders, 721 fifth graders, and 639 seventh graders indicate that no single objective format stood out above the others, although some demonstrated superiority to the dictation format on several dimensions.…

Uses suggestions and guidelines from a number of sources to present, in light of current assessment demands and contemporary theories of learning and motivation, 11 basic principles to guide the assessment training and professional development of teachers and administrators. (SLD)

Describes one Illinois school district's efforts to develop multiple school and student performance measures that go beyond standardized test scores. (PKP)

When California set out nearly 10 years ago to reduce class sizes in the early grades, educators nationwide looked West with awe and envy at the ambitious move to ease the task of teaching millions of the state's youngest students. In this article, the author examines the effects of California's class-size reduction program. State Superintendent…

This chapter discusses multiple challenges and pathways to address the margins of adult education and poses question for future consideration.

This paper analyses the experience of so-called "failing schools" in order to develop understandings that can inform improvement efforts. It reports on a study of the experiences of a small number of English primary schools placed in "special measures" as a result of being inspected. The study is unusual in that, in the past,…

Historically, many students with disabilities were excluded from large-scale assessments. Recent federal and state policy initiatives, including the most recent reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, require that the large majority of students with disabilities be included in the statewide assessments used in…

This profile describes the methods used for assessing pupils in Danish schools. The Danish school system is rooted in traditions going back almost 200 years. The per pupil expenditure is the highest of any country at the level of primary education and at the lower secondary level is only exceeded by three countries. Public satisfaction with the…

Discusses the tendency of schools to follow up poor standardized test scores with test-taking instruction, and the limitations of these standardized tests for providing authentic assessment of academic abilities. Suggests four prescriptions for educators, administrators, parents and policy makers for improving the administration and use of…

This article briefly chronicles nearly a decade of research and development activity undertaken in the area of assessment by a group of committed volunteers, "The Student Assessment and Classification Working Group" (SACWG). However, greater attention is given to demonstrating what a self-help approach can achieve in respect of research…