Many articles and reports have reviewed, researched, and commented on international assessments from the perspective of exploring what is relevant for the United States' education systems. Researchers make claims about whether the top-performing systems have transferable practices or policies that could be applied to the United States. However,…

The article reviews research and findings on problems and issues faced when translating international academic achievement tests. The purpose is to draw attention to the problems, to help to develop the procedures followed when translating the tests, and to provide suggestions for further research. The problems concentrate on the following: the…

This chapter introduces theory that undergirds the role of testing adaptations in assessment, provides examples of item modifications and testing accommodations, reviews research relevant to each, and introduces a new paradigm that incorporates opportunity to learn (OTL), academic enablers, testing adaptations, and inferences that can be made from…

A new vision of science learning described in the "Next Generation Science Standards"--particularly the science and engineering practices and their integration with content--pose significant challenges for large-scale assessment. This article explores what might be learned from advances in large-scale science assessment and…

The discussion here covers five articles that are linked in the sense that they all treat population invariance. This discussion of population invariance is a somewhat broader treatment of the subject than simply a discussion of these five articles. In particular, occasional reference is made to publications other than those in this issue. The…

This article discusses the five studies included in this issue. Each article addressed the same topic, population invariance of equating. They all used data from major standardized testing programs, and they all used essentially the same statistics to evaluate their results, namely, the root mean square difference and root expected mean square…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) permits the Secretary of Education to use NAEP achievement level scores, in concert with other data, to confirm state testing results. The U.S. Department of Education has not yet published a guidance document describing how NAEP might be used appropriately. A review of the literature from the Department and…

This document contains a brief summary of research on the Success for All comprehensive school reform program and the alignment document that outlines the correlation between Success for All and the objectives and outcomes described in the Stanford Achievement Test: Ninth Edition (SAT-9) as designed by Harcourt, Inc. Research has found Success for…

This paper summarizes what is known about the effects of Texas policies to raise academic standards, measure student performance, and impose consequences for results over the past decade. A careful review of the best available evidence shows that, while Texas has not yet achieved an education "miracle," the state has taken several steps…

Developed as an easy to use reference on test data for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), this report is divided into two sections: analysis of county data and analysis of school data. Features of the report are as follows: (1) a longitudinal analysis of performance of students tested in MCPS in 1976, 1978 and 1980; (2) school results broken…

A review of the significant research on gender differences in test performance is provided, including studies documenting these differences and theories forwarded for the factors related to differential test performance. Research covered addresses undergraduate admissions tests, graduate and professional school admission tests, validity studies,…

For this report, CEEP staff collected information on testing timelines, subjects, grade configurations, names, and SEA testing contacts. As with the 2003 report, discussion in this report is limited to the testing components of state assessment programs, such as Indiana's ISTEP+ program, used for compliance purposes with state and federal…

Concerns and objections regarding minimum competency testing (MCT) are raised. The tests are criticized for their tendencies to: (1) deny variability in growth, development, and intelligence; (2) expose rather than constructively examine underachievers; (3) divert scarce personnel and financial resources to test administration; (4) ignore…

This chronological review of research and educational literature traces the growth in the use of standardized and locally developed assessment instruments in community colleges over the past decade. The literature review covers the following aspects of the issue of student assessment: (1) studies from the early 1970's showing a negative attitude…

Examined the relationship between state-mandated testing and teachers' beliefs and practices through a review of the literature. Findings suggest that a relationship between state-mandated testing and teachers' beliefs does exist, but testing does not appear to be an exclusive or primary lever for change. (SLD)