Bracey looks at three well-known assessments--the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the Program of International Student Assessment, and the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study--and concludes that their "instruction-insensitive" design makes them inappropriate as measures of education quality in schools, districts, states,…

When commercially available tests failed to match their whole-language instructional practices, resource teachers in a Canadian school district developed their own instrument. Assembled over a five-year period, the Multi-Layered Assessment Package (MAP) is a set of procedures accompanied by suggested books, transcripts, and retelling and recording…

England's new General Certificate of Secondary Education examination has improved teaching and broadened the range of skills appraised. Besides demanding new skills, a new professionalism, and parents' and politicians' trust, performance assessment is costly and time-consuming. Despite all care and effort, some will not view this method as…

A sampling of student assessment and accountability in selected countries to help put trends in the United States in perspective. Examines national student assessments in England, France, and Hong Kong. Also looks at several international collaborative assessment projects for reading literacy, mathematics, and science. (Contains 10 references.)…