This book originated from a conference arranged to honor the professional contributions of William D. Schafer on his retirement. In recognition of his interest in the subject, each chapter is an effort by one or more professionals to describe what they think the future of assessment should be. The chapters are: (1) What Will Teachers Know about…

This report to the Nevada State Legislature examines policies related to graduation for students with disabilities and the state testing process. An introductory section notes relevant federal and Nevada legislation and regulations. The next section reviews current statutory, regulatory, and administrative requirements regarding Nevada state…

The application of emerging digital technologies such as e-mail, the World Wide Web and the Internet in the educational setting has received wide acceptance all over the world. Both corporate and academic agendas have recognized the potential advantages of e-learning; however, as a new field, e-learning courses comes with important issues that…

This chapter outlines the purpose of testing and assessment, focusing on uses, and highlights some of the limitations of all forms of testing. The concept of testing is one of the major contributions of the field of psychology to society. Carefully developed tests, when used wisely, provide valuable information for decision makers in educational,…

The purpose of this chapter is to capture what the future holds for assessment in education and counseling. The author reviews the impact of technology, high-stakes testing, and testing accommodations. Concludes that since the use of tests and assessment in educational institutions will continue to expand, enhanced training in the use of tests and…

This paper introduces the concept of a reusable assessment framework (RAF). An RAF contains a library of linked assessment design objects that express: (1) specific set of proficiencies (i.e. the knowledge, skills, and abilities of students for a given content or skill area); (2) the types of evidence that can be used to estimate those…

This volume contains abstracts of the more than 250 discussion papers, symposia, displays, and training sessions presented at the Mid-South Educational Research Association (MSERA) 1996 annual meeting. Papers deal with elementary, secondary, and higher education, and cover a broad spectrum of educational issues. Although many papers focus on the…

This volume contains abstracts of the more than 300 discussion papers, symposia, displays, and training sessions presented at the Mid-South Educational Research Association (MSERA) 1999 annual meeting. Papers deal with elementary, secondary, and higher education and cover a broad spectrum of educational issues. Although many papers focus on the…

This paper addresses the controversy about use of "out-of-level" testing, the practice of assessing students (usually those with disabilities) with a lower-level version of a test. The controversy pits unintended instructional consequences against "accurately" measuring performance and avoiding student frustration. Introductory…

This report reviews the current status, empirical findings, theoretical issues, and practical considerations related to state-level minimum competency testing programs. It finds that, although two-thirds of current testing programs now use direct writing prompts to assess writing achievement, essentially all programs rely on multiple choice tests…

In June 1998, California started an evaluation of standards-based accountability. The evaluation focused on the status and impact of local accountability systems, content standards, assessment measures, use of data, consequences and incentives, and assistance in school districts across the state. In the course of the study, the California…

Since 1991, the National Science Foundation has funded 59 state, urban, and rural systemic initiatives to promote achievement in math, science, and technology. The Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) is a six-state consortium that focuses these efforts on low-income rural schools. A primary means of accomplishing this is a 1-day,…

This volume reports the results of the first phase of the Civic Education Study conducted by International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). During 1996 and 1997, researchers in 24 countries collected documentary evidence on the circumstances, contents, and processes of civic education in response to a common set of…

This paper describes the progress of the Colorado Partnership for Educational Renewal (CoPER), an initiative that increases contact and dialogue between universities and P-12 faculty. The report provides a history of Colorado's foundation for the school-university partnership, which was established in 1986, and discusses a long-range evaluation of…

This document provides complete collections of columns from the journal "Assessment Update" for the past 10 years. By-lined columns from Trudy W. Banta, Editor, include articles on: (1) encouraging faculty involvement in assessment; (2) the growing variety of assessment methods; (3) assessment in response to external pressures: performance funding…