A valuable lesson about teacher ownership and its power to move a school forward was learned by the author as she worked with a professional development initiative on assessment: No matter how closely a district-level leader thinks she is connected to and trusted by a staff, the collective commitment, focus, and action of the teachers themselves…

This digest examines the use of standardized, nationally normed testing in assessing the progress of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students and describes alternative forms of assessment. For years, researchers have criticized the overuse of standardized, nationally normed tests to assess learner and school success. Problems with such…

A panel of 46 experts from philosophy and education defines critical thinking as "purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations upon which that judgment is…

The effect on achievement when the prescribed maximum time limits of a standardized achievement test are exceeded was studied using students nested in block-by-treatment combinations. The analysis was a hierarchical (nested) randomized blocks analysis of covariance involving 408 fifth graders taking the Stanford Achievement Test in Lansing,…

This paper discusses the findings of a United Kingdom study that examined the impact of the 1988 Education Reform Act (ERA) on a group of parents whose children would be most affected by the changes. Between the fall of 1989 and the summer of 1992, five rounds of interviews were conducted with the same sample of 138 parents from 11 different…

School districts nationwide are experimenting with a range of reform options, one of which is private management of public schools. This General Accounting Office (GAO) report describes the early experiences of four school districts that contracted with private companies for management of their public schools. Specifically, the report describes:…

The gain, or difference, score is defined as the difference between the posttest score and the pretest score for an individual. Gain scores appear to be a natural measure of growth for education and the social sciences, but they contain two sources of measurement error, error in either the pretest or posttest scores, and cannot be considered…

The requirement that schools in England and Wales assess their students, at age seven, in English and mathematics has created a demand for an assessment of students at their entry to statutory schooling. This paper reports on the development and standardization of a test of mathematical concepts for students aged four and over (four plus) as they…

This study examined the relationship between student effort and performance on the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP), a standardized measure of postsecondary educational development, while statistically controlling for American College Testing (ACT) Assessment scores, ethnicity, gender, length of time between ACT Assessment and…

Starting in the late 1980s, two teams of researchers, well known for their criticism of standardized tests on equity and validity grounds, began attacking standardized testing on efficiency grounds as well, using cost-benefit analysis to do it. Their analyses are reviewed, and their conclusions discussed. The first team, Lorrie A. Shepard, Amelia…

Part essay, part poetry, part collage of student writing and personal reflections, this book uses metaphor to evoke the interactions and anguishes of a high school English teacher's day, a juggling act of efforts to help the demoralized and disruptive while still trying to make learning meaningful. In the book, the English teacher's students speak…

Various issues in determining the effectiveness of educational services for gifted students are considered in this chapter. First, the limitations of standardized instruments are identified. These include narrowness of assessment (usually only across traditional curricular areas), invalidity in assessing program goals (which may not correspond to…

This review of the literature summarizes findings on instructional grouping issues and academic achievement of gifted elementary students. The review addresses problems of using standardized tests to evaluate instructional effectiveness of grouping arrangements, distinctions between providing the same curriculum and a differentiated curriculum to…

A study in Sri Lanka concerning the effects of second language tests, specifically the O-Level examination in English as a Second Language, on classroom language instruction is reported. The study investigates the phenomenon of washback or backwash, the influence of testing on instruction. It is cited as the only known research investigating…

This report is aimed at helping Congress: (1) better understand the functions, history, capabilities, limitations, uses, and misuses of educational tests; (2) learn more about the promises and pitfalls of new assessment methods and technologies; and (3) identify and weigh policy options affecting educational policy. To prepare this report, the…