The nation's Governors resolved to lead restructuring efforts in their states as part of their commitment to achieve the national education goals by the year 2000. States are experimenting with a range of approaches to restructuring, depending on their resources, demographics, governance structures, and traditions. This report describes states'…

Issues in the definition and evaluation of "educational adequacy" as a forerunner to establishing a financially equitable Illinois school system are examined in this paper. A list of 30 potential indicators of educational adequacy was developed for three categories: outcomes, resources, and context. A mailed survey to determine which…

Concerns about using portfolios (collections of student work showing student effort, progress, or achievement in one or more areas) in large-scale assessments are addressed. The products in a portfolio allow the reviewer to make inferences about the process of student learning. Hence, a portfolio should include information about the activities…

The current progress of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is examined, and its background is summarized. Federally financed since the late 1960's, the NAEP is a survey of U.S. students' achievment in various subject areas. As an indicator of change in elementary and secondary educational achievement, it has received attention…

While 1990 was the year of reform recommendations in mathematics education, 1991 may become the year of assessment in mathematics education. The growth of assessment activities stems from the belief that the primary purpose of assessment is the improvement of teaching. The digest reviews trends in mathematics assessment. Discussed are the sudden…

Problems in accountability assessment are examined from a unique perspective by considering the prices paid as a result of the use of secret tests (tests comprised of items drawn from non-publicly available item banks). This report is a compilation of the following articles: (1) "The Social, Intellectual, and Psychological Prices of…

Based on the FairTest perspective, this paper argues that the United States does not need a national test to measure progress toward the nation's educational goals and that such a test would have adverse impacts on low-income and minority students. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) should remain an indicator system but should…

Applicable to all levels of education, the eight digests and four FAST (Focused Access to Selected Topics) bibliographies included in this special collection focus on testing and assessment in the fields of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The material in this special collection is designed for use by teachers, students, administrators,…

A historical overview of political events in Illinois that led to the establishment and implementation of a performance accountability system, school report cards, is presented in this report. The discussion shows that although statewide events influenced policymakers, local conditions and ethos also affected the result. The educational…

This report provides a transcription of the speeches and written statements presented at a Senate hearing concerning the state of crisis within American education. The hearing examines whether the nation is meeting its education goals and reviews proposals to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. It focuses on problems and reforms in elementary…

The Dallas Independent School District (DISD) is rapidly progressing from the position of having an assessment program that does not work to the position of having an assessment program that does work. The perception that assessment is separate from instruction has changed to a view of assessment as part of a four-stage model including planning,…

To investigate the dependence of mathematics achievement and attitudes on each other and other factors, achievement test scores and ratings of 2,368 13-year-old students who participated in the 1977-78 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) were analyzed. Achievement was significantly associated with attitudes, sex, ethnicity, father's…

This report treats the following topics: (1) a history of state certification programs, including pilot programs, certification endorsement standards, institutes, and the graduate degree plan in bilingual education; (2) an outline of a plan to meet teacher supply needs in response to a state Senate bill; (3) tables presenting data from surveys…

In discussing how to measure the effects of a residential course upon student goals and attitudes, the author advocates a transaction research self-study focusing on college organization (what it does and does not do to further human development). Basic open-ended questions would be posed in personal interviews with students, faculty and…

An assessment scheme was designed to evaluate scientific skills and attitudes. Presents an example of the assessment sheet and outlines one method of recording the results. (GS)