Considers how Illinois has always tested teachers for certification, but now state officials are holding teacher education programs at colleges and universities accountable for "passing rates" on these examinations as part of the Federal Title II initiative which is intended to identify and make public "bad quality" teacher…

Although Texas has encountered challenges while working to improve the school accountability system, results thus far are promising. The Texas Public School Accountability System has contributed to impressive student achievement gains while reducing the achievement gap among various groups of students. Elementary schools have shown the greatest…

Discusses the intellectual history supporting the use of educational testing and describes four current tensions in testing: (1) learning and change versus measurement models; (2) quality of information and policy use; (3) precision versus utility; and (4) individual attainment versus standardized attainment. (SLD)

Describes progress of efforts of four Title I elementary schools in Idaho to raise student scores on state-mandated mathematics tests. Variations in patterns of progress among schools were attributed to differences in staff commitment and principal leadership. (PKP)

Much attention has focused recently on using student test scores to evaluate public schools. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 requires states to test students and evaluate each school's progress toward having all students meet or exceed state standards. Under the law, however, schools only need to test 95% of their students. When some students…

A sizable literature has demonstrated that the achievement of children in early elementary school is related to their season of birth: Those born in summer typically perform less well than those born in the fall. A small literature indicates that more children diagnosed with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are born in the summer. We have…

Using five different data sets, this study explores the bidirectional relationship between standardized tests and various indicators of success. Examining student success on a variety of indicators such as cumulative grade point average and graduation rates, the study demonstrates the limited usefulness of such tests, particularly when the data…

Current research suggests that schools in urban settings are experiencing increased instances of de facto segregation. This article explores the implications for creating democratic structures in schools that are segregated and includes a discussion of the desegregation efforts in Kansas City, Missouri, as a way to illustrate the reality of the…

In this evolving era of high-stakes testing, most parents and teachers are unaware of the relationship between strong information literacy curricula and increases in student achievement. Information-literacy skills provide students with a powerful set of tools they can use to solve all types of problems. A curriculum that emphasizes…

The use of educational tests in practical situations often requires that tests that are built to different content and/or statistical specifications be statistically linked. When equating methods are applied to tests that differ in content, difficulty, and/or reliability, the resulting scores cannot be used interchangeably. This study examined…

A paper appearing in this journal by Klein, Hamilton, McCaffrey and Stecher (2000) attempted to raise serious questions about the validity of the gains in student performance as measured by Texas' standardized test, the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). Part of their analysis was based on the results of three tests which they…

The most recent attempt by educators to emulate the "sound principles" and methods of business and science is to become data-driven. The leaders in a data-driven school are able to demonstrate how some number, preferably scores on standardized tests, has moved upward as a result of some program they have initiated. Data-driven schools also possess…

In this article, the author discusses the five-paragraph essay, a way of organizing ideas into an introduction with a main argument, three body paragraphs that develop that argument, and a conclusion that advances the argument a step further by way of application or tantalizing suggestion. She stresses the importance of teaching the five-paragraph…

The No Child Left Behind Act has spawned new opportunities--and challenges--for an increasingly diverse testing industry. With all of the federal law's testing requirements, the Government Accountability Office estimates that states will have to spend between $1.9 billion and $5.3 billion in the next six years, depending on the types of tests…

Riordan and Noyce (2001) report that schools that used the Connected Mathematics Project (CMP) for two to three years had greater gains in math achievement overall than those in the comparison group. Riordan and Noyce do not report whether this difference was statistically significant. However, t tests calculated by the WWC using data provided by…