In Spring 2000, Nebraska passed legislation supporting a school-based and teacher-led initiative. The plan provides districts flexibility in the testing tools they use, but still requires districts to develop standards, report annually on student progress, and participate in an annual statewide writing assessment. (Contains 13 references.) (MLH)

In the workplace, the test score/earnings relationship is insignificant. Job success does not involve taking tests, but pleasing employers, working well with colleagues, and being courteous, savvy, reliable, motivated, and perseverant. Test-score disparities severely affect minorities' college-admission and employment opportunities. (MLH)

Examines the high stakes of large-scale mathematics assessment practices and ways in which they are agents of change, focusing on: types of instruments used; how test design informs instructional practice; how dissemination of test information informs instructional practice; and who is responsible or accountable for results. (SM)

This excerpt from "Measuring Up: Standards, Assessment, and School Reform" points out the limits of norm-referenced tests and discusses the pitfalls of making testing a high-stakes enterprise. Points out that the emphasis on standardized testing, and the push for school districts to score well, often has an inordinate and detrimental effect on…

Discusses the failings of standardized tests and the benefits of performance-based assessment, which supports high-quality teaching and learning, noting what is necessary for assessment reform and what parents can do. (SM)

Two researchers who re-examined a North Carolina district's exemplary SAT performance discovered that this district's gains paralleled those in the rest of the state. The dropout rate also remained high. Most investigations of music, art, and academic learning show positive correlations, but no causal effects. (MLH)

Though high-stakes testing is one of the worst school reform ideas circulating today, states are increasingly making them the focus of school improvement strategies, assuming that the threat of severe penalty pressures students and teachers to improve performance. The paper explains why this theory is flawed, noting that many building blocks…

Reviews two books criticizing the use of standardized testing. Nicholas Lehmann considers selective college admission based on the Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT) offensive, since such tests never tap innate abilities. Peter Sacks develops a broader critique not confined to the SAT. The books suggest that effective education reform depends upon…

Uses the example of Vanderbilt University's predicted grade point average model to discuss the use of empirical criteria (such as high school grades and standardized test scores) within a comprehensive approach when predicting the future academic success of college applicants. (EV)

Considers the use of literature circles beyond the scope of fiction reading. Discusses literature circles' use with biographies, information books, essay collections, science adventures, travelogues, biographies, muckraking exposes, memoirs and even content area reading. Notes that teachers have an immediate incentive to try nonfiction literature…

Traces development of educational accountability in California; examines role of state political leadership; considers impact of requirements of reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (PKP)

Two studies on young children are reported that address the psychometric characteristics of the Scale for Assessing Emotional Disturbance (SAED). Results from the studies indicate that the SAED is a reliable and valid instrument for identifying young children who may qualify for the federal definition of emotional disturbance. (Contains…

Considers how many teacher educators feel caught between the need to comply with state and federal laws governing the approval of their teacher education programs and the desire to resist what many feel to be another example of "testing gone wild." Presents a conversation with Alfie Kohn on high stakes tests for teachers and for students. (SG)

Describes how a group of Texas teacher educators use story to examine their teaching decisions in the face of a test-driven curriculum. Notes that their stories reflect their responses to pressures to create curriculum that imitates the test rather than remaining learner-centered. (SG)

Focuses on a group of bilingual children within a large cohort of children with specific language impairment (SLI) attending language units attached to mainstream primary schools across England. Comparison of the bilingual children with their monolingual peers revealed differential performance on standardized speech and language assessment…