The Northwest Evaluation Association helped an Indiana school district develop a computerized adaptive testing system that was aligned with its curriculum and geared toward measuring individual student growth. Now the district can obtain such information from semester to semester and year to year, get immediate results, and test students on…

Because educators have unrealistic expectations about tests, they use them inappropriately and draw inaccurate conclusions from results. This article debunks five myths about test-score comparisons: valid measurement of school quality; declining international competitiveness; "fixing" schools with more tests; development of new, improved…

Paper introduces a collection of papers on educational assessment, noting controversies surrounding both old and new assessment methods, discussing the persistent set of technical issues that must be addressed by the research community in measurement, and examining work by the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student…

Reports a systematic national study of the implementation and effects of Core Knowledge Sequence, a list of curricular topics to teach in elementary grades. While Core Knowledge effects included increased curricular coordination, project-based instruction, and improved teacher's lives, students' basic skills standardized test scores were the same…

Argues that standardized testing encourages a standardized pedagogy in a nonstandard, diverse student population and is characterized by logical fallacies and procedural problems. Concludes that conventional tests create barriers to learning and educational policies with important consequences for children. Encourages early childhood teachers to…

Discusses individualism and the outcomes of liberalism. Highlights the pedagogical beliefs of egalitarian liberals and libertarian liberals and their differences. Discusses the current curricular and behavioral renorming of public education. (CMK)

Inquiry-based teaching and assessment approaches are superior to standardized tests for measuring students' progress. Historical thinking skills employed in Leopold von Ranke's 19th-century seminars have been refined to consider point of view, credibility of evidence, historical context, causality, and multiple perspectives--benchmarks of…

Eight members of the education community (e.g., students, teachers, college faculty, and administrators) respond to a question about the impact of high-stakes testing of teachers and students on teaching and teacher education. Their responses focus on such issues as test bias, at-risk students, specific state responses, and testing of students…

Introduces this special theme issue discussing tensions in education stemming from public school reform. Discusses the issue's focus on (1) standardized testing; (2) developmentally appropriate practice; and (3) full inclusion. Concludes that despite seemingly irreconcilable tensions, public schools have strong public support. (KB)

Explores how a new teacher's identity was affected when she attempted to enact a student-centered, i.e., liberal, pedagogy in a school district that was in the process of introducing a heavily scripted language arts curriculum tied to district standardized tests. Concludes that the frustration that the teacher felt was that the curriculum took…

Follows up the author's April 1999 article in this same journal, which described how her teaching improved when she decided not to focus on the minimal competency test for Texas. Quantifies ways her students became better readers and reports on the high pass rate of those very students on the reading section of the Texas Assessment of Academic…

Prospects for reforming assessment are dim. Persistence of the "education crisis" is chiefly attributable to the testing industry's profit margins and its distrust of teachers--a ploy to preserve the educational power structure. Schools should be accountable to local communities, not corporate entities, as a Nebraska initiative shows.…

Assessment and accountability have played prominent roles in many reform efforts during the past 50 years. Reviews features of assessment and accountability that influence the trustworthiness of information provided and impact educational practices and student learning. Discusses reform based on assessment and accountability, describes salient…

Citing the results of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exams, author disputes conclusion in Skrla and others article that Texas high-stakes accountability system significantly increased educational equity and social justice for racial minority students. (PKP)

Reviews features of assessment and accountability that influence the trustworthiness of information provided and impact educational practices and student learning. Discusses reform based on assessment and accountability, describes salient features in reform efforts, and makes suggestions for assessment and accountability systems. (SLD)