The purpose of this report is to provide insight into how state departments are implementing legislative requirements for educator evaluation, particularly the specific circumstances states encounter around arts education. Spotlights on Delaware, a first-round recipient of Race to the Top funding, and Colorado and Arizona, third-round recipients,…

This report examines the differences in impact estimates and standard errors that arise when these are derived using state achievement tests only (as pre-tests and post-tests), study-administered tests only, or some combination of state- and study-administered tests. State tests may yield different evaluation results relative to a test that is…

States are increasingly focusing the mission of their elementary and secondary education systems on preparing all students for success in postsecondary education and 21st century careers. As standards have increased, so too have graduation requirements. Today, 20 states and the District of Columbia have adopted such high school graduation…

Offers six Arizona teachers' comments on the new Arizona Student Assessment Program (ASAP). Discusses how the test affects children, whether the testing procedure is easily understood by teachers, how the ASAP differs from a standardized test, how the classroom teaching process has changed as a result of the test, concerns about the test, and…

Offers a preliminary assessment of the new Arizona Student Assessment Program (ASAP). Uses James Squire's model for analyzing reading and writing processes to analyze how well the tests assess reading processes. Includes some sample ASAP forms. Finds that the problems are minor in terms of evaluating the overall effectiveness of the new…

This guide is designed to give the student helpful information about Arizona's Instrument To Measure the Standards (AIMS) for high school. The guide provides examples of the type of questions students see on AIMS and explains how items are scored. It does not teach what the student needs to know to do well on AIMS, but it will help the student…

This addendum was created to reflect the recommendations of the Mathematics Task Force that met in Arizona to make recommendations to the state Board of Education. The Mathematics Task Force recommended that a core curriculum be identified in the Mathematics Proficiency Standards that would be required of all high school students beginning in the…

The standards presented in this book, for reading, writing, and mathematics, are those that will be initially assessed by Arizona's Instrument To Measure Standards (AIMS). These standards and those for other content areas will be a road map for education in Arizona. A statewide test is being developed for each of these areas to measure student…

This guide is designed to give the student helpful information about Arizona's Instrument To Measure the Standards (AIMS) for grade 3. The guide provides examples of the type of questions students see on AIMS and explains how items are scored. It does not teach what the student needs to know to do well on AIMS, but it will help the student know…

This guide is designed to give the student helpful information about Arizona's Instrument To Measure the Standards (AIMS) for grade 5. The guide provides examples of the type of questions students see on AIMS and explains how items are scored. It does not teach what the student needs to know to do well on AIMS, but it will help the student know…

This guide is designed to give the student helpful information about Arizona's Instrument To Measure the Standards (AIMS) for grade 8. The guide provides examples of the type of questions students see on AIMS and explains how items are scored. It does not teach what the student needs to know to do well on AIMS, but it will help the student know…

In the mission statement that introduces this annual report, the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction defines the goals of revamping the state's "Essential Skills" program to reflect high academic standards and achievement, develop a fiscally responsible equitable school finance system, and reorganize the state department of…

In Arizona, beginning teachers applying for certification must take the Arizona Teacher Proficiency Examination which tests professional knowledge, reading, mathematics, and grammar. The high failure rate on the grammar test has caused a great deal of concern; 40 percent of the examinees, and a higher percentage of minority groups, failed it in…

This document consists of the 2000 edition of the "Education Policy Analysis Archives." The papers include: (1) "Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A Review of State Policy Evidence" (Linda Darling-Hammond); (2) "America Y2K: The Obsolescence of Educational Reforms" (Sherman Dorn); (3) "Forces for Change in…

In 2004 the Arizona Education Policy Initiative (AEPI), a collaboration of Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona, conducted its first-annual survey of parents in a systematic effort to capture parent opinion and establish a framework for tracking parent views over time. Assessing parent opinion is…