Describes the procedures by which Kentucky's state assessment program synthesized results from three standard setting procedures (Contrasting Groups, Bookmark, and Jaeger-Mills) for the 2000 state assessment. Shows the value of using multiple standard-setting approaches to gather information from each. (SLD)

The objectives of this paper are threefold. First, a model is proposed for unifying massive amounts of conceptual and numerical information flowing from the measures of the accountability movement in Ohio and the materials that are publicly available to educators. Second, this model is translated into useable forms of information that help…

This paper is based on guidelines developed in 1989 for training workshops for state and local educators to demonstrate the processes by which performance assessments could be created, validated, and used in statewide assessment programs. These guidelines are based on work with the National Assessment of Educational Progress and several statewide…

All New Jersey students in grades 3, 6, 9, and 11 are tested annually in basic reading and computation skills using the New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills (MBS) Tests. The MBS testing program was initiated in 1976. The former Educational Assessment Program tests were used during the tramsition, and test development activities were begun in 1977.…

The North Carolina Writing Assessment, which is part of the state's End-of-Grade testing program, requires students in grades 4 and 7 to write essays in response to a standardized prompt. This report contains results for the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS). Fourth grade writing assessment scores across North Carolina rose in 1999, and in…

Project Basic is a program developed by the Maryland State Department of Education to assure that students attain basic skills in a variety of areas. Two levels of tests are given in grade 7 to monitor progress, and in grades 9 to 12 to determine whether each student has met the state minimum competency level. Students must pass the higher level…

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'…

Rasch model statistics and domain-referenced test development methods were used in the Virginia Basic Learning Skills (BLS) testing programs and the Graduation Competencies testing program in order to increase the fairness and effectiveness of those programs. Mastery of each of the 83 objectives in reading and mathematics for grades one through…

New Hampshire has adopted a standards-based statewide assessment, the New Hampshire Educational Improvement and Assessment Program (NHEIAP), which is designed to measure students' learning against proficiency standards at grades 3, 6, and 10. Because of the difficulty teachers had in interpreting the NHEIAP results, a custom-designed software…

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…

The Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) utilize the state mandated testing of students in grades 3, 5 and 8 with the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) as an accountability index. The district has set objectives to be met by teachers and students. The Department of Instructional Research, Testing, and Evaluation (IRTE) District Program…

A statewide sample testing of writing skills in the fourth, seventh, and tenth grades was conducted by the Michigan Educational Assessment Program in the fall of 1982. This report, which shares the writing assessment information (historical, descriptive, and interpretive) for educational decision-making, was prepared in the hope of increasing…

Test results are summarized for the second year of the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test administered to 47,725 entering freshmen in the fall of 1979. Performance is categorized into one of three groups: appears proficient in basic skills tested; demonstrates proficiency in some (but not all) of the areas tested; and demonstrates a…

In the spring of 1985, the Oregon Department of Education conducted an assessment of eighth graders' writing skills. It was the first statewide assessment to be scored analytically according to six traits: ideas and content, organization and development, style, word choice, syntax/sentence structure, and conventions (grammar, punctuation,…

During the 1979-80 school year, California public school students in grades 3, 6 and 12 were tested in the basic skills of reading, written expression, and mathematics. Complete statewide results of this California Assessment Program (CAP) are presented, including the following features that have become standard: (1) detailed findings including…