In this interview, influential educator Deborah Meier discusses her education philosophy, especially as it relates to current reform efforts focusing on standardized testing. Meier stresses that there is a big difference between standards and standardization, and that standardized testing is incapable of measuring complex and subtle qualities…

Asks several teachers what they have lost from their teaching or their classroom since the growth in mandated, standardized testing. Considers the ill effects of mandated testing, and names some educational essentials at risk of being lost while testing rules. Discusses what is lost in high-stakes multiple-choice testing of new teachers. (SG)

Typically, high performing schools are those with high test scores. Affluent students generally have higher scores than poorer students. True high performing schools require students to take rigorous courses, hire extremely competent teachers, and for teachers to know every student well. They use their limited funds efficiently to improve teaching…

Suggests that the most dangerous component of President Bush's education plan is the imposition of high-stakes standardized testing on public school students, describing the country's national anti-testing movement and highlighting the movement against the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, which is led by such groups as the Coalition…

The No Child Left Behind Act (2002) articulates a vision emphasizing the attainment of high achievement for all students. This legislation has defined a vital role for large-scale assessment in determining whether students are learning. However, standardized mathematics test performance by females and Black students continues to be a source of…

In this commentary, the author identifies what, in her opinion, has been left out of the discussion of "scale up." She expresses particular concern that the rhetoric of scaling up, and the concomitant assertion of scientific underpinnings for programs brought to scale, may overstate the relation of the developers' programs and program materials to…

The publication of A-level examination results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has become one of the major diary items in the news media's calendar. This paper is based, in part, upon the findings of an inter-disciplinary study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). It explores two key questions about the relationship…

Also known as online learning, virtual learning, and distance learning, e-learning relies on the Internet as a way to deliver instruction to students. This article explores the differences between virtual schools, and virtual courses, and discusses the differences between the two, and the benefits of both. In both virtual schools and virtual…

The primary objective of this study was to examine the construct validity for the 2 multiple-content testing programs-the multiple-choice Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS/5) together with the performance-based Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP)-by evaluating the true-score longitudinal associations among…

Do world language students exhibit higher achievement than students who choose not to study a language? This study sought the answer to this question by comparing standardized test scores of language students with those of non-foreign-language students. Additionally, comparisons were made between students who started language study in middle…

Students (N = 730) took the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (current forms G or H) during orientation to medical school. Stepwise regression analyses showed the Nelson-Denny Reading Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Rate were significant predictors of MCAT (taken prior to admission to medical school) verbal reasoning. Reading Vocabulary was a significant…

The press media has taken an active role in the debates over bilingual education through editorial analysis and policy recommendations. The editorials' policy recommendations are influential because they are directed at the political elite as well as to the general public, both of which have a limited understanding of bilingual education.…

Until recently there has been no nationally acceptable test for assessing reading for the higher grades (Five and Six) of the elementary schools in Greece. As part of an effort to validate such a test, evidence was gathered from teachers' rating scales. Seventy-two teachers from Fifth and Sixth Grades all over Greece evaluated their 1377 students'…

One assumption underlying accountability policies is that results from standardized tests and other sources will be used to make decisions about school and classroom practice. We explore this assumption using data from a longitudinal study of nine high schools nominated as leading practitioners of Continuous Improvement (CI) practices. We use the…

Standardized tests have become commonly used tools for accountability in public education in the United States. In Florida, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is used to measure student achievement on grade-specific standards and benchmarks. Various agencies have developed computer-based and web-based software applications to improve…