Standardised testing regimes, including the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in Australia, have impacted on relationships between and within schools, and on teachers' work and on pedagogies. Previous analyses of the effects of NAPLAN have been generated outside of the test situation: frequently through attitudinal surveys…

"Classroom Assessment in Action" clarifies the multi-faceted roles of measurement and assessment and their applications in a classroom setting. Comprehensive in scope, Shermis and Di Vesta explain basic measurement concepts and show students how to interpret the results of standardized tests. From these basic concepts, the authors then…

Presents the case of Daryl, a fourth grader who performs well in daily classroom work, but cannot tolerate testing. Because of New York State testing mandates, this child will probably repeat fourth grade or be assigned to special education classes. Clearly, alternative measures building on children's strengths are needed. Includes two references.…

Cognizant of individual learning differences, the Rhinebeck (New York) School District refused to settle for mandated Regents exams. Staff developed a successful exhibition program requiring all students in the 5th, 7th, 10th, and 12th grades to demonstrate their knowledge through a performance judged by using various rubrics. (MLH)

Defines grade level as an age grouping that yields an achievement distribution approximating a normal curve, with the distribution average at grade level in a typical school. With an average teacher, an average child gains a year. Educators must accept this normal range of reading achievement and adjust instruction to it. Includes eight…

Explores the ethical issues involved in using standardized tests to implement a state-level policy. Examines the fourth grade science program evaluation test administered in New York State for the first time in 1989. A utilitarian view of ethics ignores the consequences of testing for different constituents, obviates caring behavior, and damages…

The emergence of computerized adaptive tests (CATs), which customize assessment for each individual, may mean more efficient testing. A CAT version of the Graduate Record Examination is in production. Critics have many questions about the technique, which is based on item response theory. (MSE)

A Colorado elementary school used its assessment program to measure everything that affected student performance; they then changed or cut anything that did not improve achievement. Teachers routinely instructed and pretested each child at his/her achievement level. The result: high gains on the 1998 Colorado State Assessment. (MLH)

Dutch secondary schools offer educational programs on four tracks, vocational and nonvocational. At the end of each program, a final examination is administered, with the test content areas determined by law, by the schools, and by the student's individual program. Assessment is by means of a written, nationally administered exam and…