Standards-based reform activity dominated K-12 education during the 1990s, reflecting a consensus that improving learning requires state-level curricular standards and examinations. Opponents argue state-imposed standards and tests overly burden districts, degrade teaching and learning, suffer from numerous technical problems, and have failed to…

The "DATAWave" is a biweekly publication of the Assessment Resource Office (ARO) at Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU). Its purpose is to inform the campus community and broader constituencies on assessment issues and practices at ENMU. The university's 10-year history of outcomes assessment is reflected in the topics of the 6 editions…

The Alaska Statewide Assessment Test (ASAT) in reading and math is administered to fourth and eighth graders every two years. This document contains three separate assessment reports generally titled "An Update on the Alaska Statewide Testing Program." Assessment Report 8, "The Interpretive Panels Look at Results," lists…

This special issue of "Catalyst", entitled Testing Programs in Schools: What's New?, was published jointly by the Nebraska Council of School Administrators and the Nebraska Association for Supervision and Curriculum. The articles emphasize desirability of designing testing programs to meet the information needs of educators and the…

This report examines issues concerning the provision of accommodations for students with disabilities participating in state and district assessments. The report considers what an accommodation is, what kinds of accommodations are available, who should make the decision regarding accommodations, when accommodations should be used, and how…

In the initial article by Edward Roeber, performance assessment is defined as an exercise in which the student demonstrates specific skills and competencies rather than selecting one of several predetermined answers to an exercise. Such as assessment contains four components: (1) a reason for the assessment; (2) a particular peformance to be…

The seven chapters of this theme issue explore current developments in research into educational accountability. State educational performance reporting policies, resource allocation for accountability, and educational reforms in Canada, Hong Kong, and Malaysia are discussed. The final chapters consider accountability policy research. (SLD)

This issue of a quarterly newsletter focuses on alternative assessment methods in adult basic education. It is occasioned, as explained in the opening editorial, by the announcement of the requirement for use of the 1987 edition of the Tests of Adult Basic Education for pre- and posttesting of basic education students in New York City, beginning…

This paper considers three areas related to the testing of minimum knowledge and skills: public policy, the nature of higher-order thinking and selected aspects of educational measurement. The discussion of public policy issues centers around an apparent dichotomy of egalitarianism and elitism in public education, schooling and the public economy,…

A series of reports informs educators and parents about the Alaska Statewide Assessment, a program designed to measure student performance in mathematics and reading. The first report covers the 1981 assessment, proposed planning and changes in the program for 1983, evaluation plans, and test scores. Report 2 describes the progress of score…

The essays in this collection attempt to provide a conceptual framework for the process of occupational curriculum development. The collection includes: (1) "Federal Government Involvement in Technical Curriculum Development," by John G. Nealon; (2) "The Challenge of Curriculum Development: From Idea to Reality," by Judith F. Raulf and Marilyn C.…

Three aspects of student assessment are addressed in this collection of essays: accountability issues and the political tensions that they reflect; assessment practices, the use and misuse of testing, and emerging directions; and the impact of assessment. The collection includes: (1) "Expansion, Quality, and Testing in American…

The DATAWave is a weekly publication of the Assessment Resource Office of Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU). Its purpose is to inform the campus community and broader constituencies about assessment issues and practice at ENMU. The issues of this first volume cover the following assessment topics: (1) introduction to the newsletter and report…

This report addresses issues concerned with reporting educational results for students with disabilities, identifies principles to guide reporting practices, and offers recommendations. The report notes that there are many purposes for reporting and that reporting information on students with disabilities is important because it ensures that they…

The DATAWave is a bi-weekly publication of the Assessment Resource Office (ARO) at Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU). Its purpose is to inform the campus community and broader constituencies on assessment issues and practices at ENMU. The seven issues of winter and spring 1996 cover the following topics: (1) a preview of ARO activities,…