Whenever performance assessment has been introduced into statewide testing programs, various potentially paralyzing difficulties have been encountered surrounding test accuracy, reliability, validity, or suitability. Programs in some states have been discontinued or placed in jeopardy. It is uncertain whether educators can overcome these problems…

Accountability systems are designed to heighten probability of student exposure to good instructional practice, reduce the likelihood of harmful practices, and provide internal self-correctives. The Chapter 1 accountability system fails to meet these objectives, as it lacks timely self-correction information, credible tests, and linkages among…

The National Council on Standards and Testing's final report (1991) endorsed the concept of national education standards that reflect high expectations, provide focus, and embody a dynamic approach. Unresolved implementation difficulties include education system impact, improvement sequence, cost effectiveness, assessment purpose, multiple v.…

Current concepts of performance assessment are very promising, partly because they are consistent with approved curriculum practice. The contemporary rationale for performance assessment has been largely uninformed by past ideas and practices. Overreliance on standardized test scores prevails, despite the midcentury core curriculum movement and…

Students at 1 East Harlem high school bypass Regents exams and Carnegie units, working intensively to prepare portfolios revealing their competence in 14 curricular areas. European assessment strategies differ from traditional U.S. tests by being truly representative of performance in the field, employing well-articulated performance standards,…