Utah has successfully implemented a variety of endeavors to ensure literacy for all students. Proficiency rates in language arts in Utah have improved in all grade levels since 2005. Emphasis has been placed on grades K-3 and early intervention for students at risk. Resources available to these students include optional extended-day kindergarten,…

This paper provides information about Mississippi Subject Area Testing Program. The purpose of the exam is to: (1) Determine prospective high school graduates' mastery of the state curriculum; (2) Provide data to state policymakers on student attainment of state education goals to inform education policy decisions; (2) Increase alignment of local…

This article features FAST-R, or Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading, a new assessment tool that measures critical-reading skills. FAST-R was developed by the the nonprofit Boston Plan for Excellence (BPE), a local education foundation, to provide teachers with information about what students are thinking when they try to find…

The South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) is discussed in a question/answer format. The 20 questions present information regarding the requirements of the legislation as it impacts classroom instruction, parental notification and involvement, recordkeeping, local school curricula, additional instructional materials, developmental…

A comparison of the reading skills assessment programs at three community colleges in Virginia and New Jersey is presented as part of an examination of the kinds of placement decisions that are made from assessment test data. Introductory comments focus on the controversy surrounding the growing emphasis on skills assessment in open-door community…

The Kansas Minimum Competency Testing Program is designed to provide the public, the Kansas State Board of Education, and the Kansas legislature with descriptive profiles of student performance relative to minimum competencies in reading and mathematics. Results of the 1982-83 assessment are presented in this report. Included are overall test…

From President Bush on down, the pressure is on to fix America's high schools. Despite a broad consensus that something is seriously wrong with the institution, deep fault lines remain about the remedies. Part of the reluctance to address high schools has been their complexity. The sheer size, departmental structure, mission creep, and other…

The faculties of the postsecondary institutions in Florida, using the authority of the State Board of Education, have implemented a testing program that increases the assurance that all students who complete their sophomore year in college have achieved the communication and computation skills expected of them. (Author/MLW)

In 1972, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia instituted the Regents' Testing Program (RTP) to provide systemwide information on the status of student competence in reading and writing and to provide a uniform means of identifying those students who fail to attain minimum levels of competence in these areas. Since 1972, some…

The Alaska Statewide Assessment Test is administered to fourth and eighth graders every two years in reading and mathematics. Assessment Report 7 describes how the assessment process works, analyzing results, test content, results for 1983, and statewide average scores. A question-answer format is used to discuss the following: (1) Was students'…

This report discusses student achievement in the San Antonio Independent School District (Texas) as seen through the results of the Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS) and the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT). Taken without benefit of statewide performance the TABS scores indicate significant and troublesome declines in basic skills. The…

In compliance with Section 1 of the 1978 Act 631, the following information is reported: (1) the administration of readiness test to all students at the beginning of first grade and (2) the development, field testing, and revision of end of year criterion-referenced tests in Grades 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8. The readiness test was administered statewide…

Competency testing in New York State began in the nineteenth century, first with a local testing mandate and later with the "preliminary Regents examinations," which were administered at the end of the eighth grade. Optional competency tests were introduced in 1962, and in 1976 the Board of Regents mandated the passing of a series of…

The purpose of the fifth annual Dearborn Achievement Test Score report is to summarize and to help interpret the test results so that Dearborn citizens and educators will have a better understanding of the educational achievements of Dearborn students. The District-wide Testing Program assesses reading readiness, scholastic aptitude, academic…

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…