This article examines the changes taken place over the decades after a test-based accountability system was in place and proposes an agenda for consequential research of the testing program. The article starts with a review of theories of test-based accountability (Supovitz, Journal of Educational Change 10:211-227, 2009) and a socially grounded,…

Physical education teachers and programs are affected by increasing accountability demands. The purpose of this article is to explain Ohio's journey from advocacy for state physical education academic content standards to state-level policy that led to the development of state-wide assessments and data reporting on each school's report card. The…

Public schools have, for generations, played a critical role in the lives of the vast majority of North Carolinians-they are ingrained into the fabric of identity as a state. Many of the issues in the Top Ten highlight where the erosion of the historic commitment to public schools for the public good is seen. The Public School Forum of North…

All educational testing is intended to have consequences, which are assumed to be beneficial, but tests may also have unintended, negative consequences (Messick, 1989). The issue is particularly important in the case of large-scale standardized tests, such as Australia's "National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy" (NAPLAN), the…

High stakes testing is popularly examined in educational research, but contemporary analyses tend to reflect a qualitative or quantitative research design (e.g., Au, 2007; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2006; Gamble, 2010). Exhaustive debate over the relative success or failure of high stakes testing is often framed between competing visions of…

Standards-based science education, with its emphasis on monitoring and accountability, is rapidly becoming a key part of the globalization of science education. Standards-based testing within countries is increasingly being used to determine the effectiveness of a country's educational system, and international testing programs such as Programme…

This paper explores Rizvi and Lingard's (2010) idea of the "local vernacular" of the global education policy trend of using high-stakes testing to increase accountability and transparency, and by extension quality, within schools and education systems in Australia. In the first part of the paper a brief context of the policy trajectory…

This paper is part of a series investigating the implementation of competency education. The purpose of the paper is to explore how districts and schools can redesign grading systems to best help students to excel in academics and to gain the skills that are needed to be successful in college, the community, and the workplace. In order to make the…

Recently, federal legislation has been implemented requiring that public school students meet a specified performance level of academic proficiency by the 2013/2014 school year. This reform movement, known as "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB), was passed by Congress and incorporates many of President Bush's educational reform proposals…

Nearly every state is engaged in what is generally being called standards-based reform, the development of statewide academic goals and guidelines in core subjects, with new state tests that will measure students progress toward these goals. The first chapter of this report describes how the Study Group on Statewide Assessment of the National…

The recently enacted No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The new law substantially increases the testing requirements for states and sets demanding accountability standards for schools, districts, and states, including the setting of measurable adequate yearly progress objectives for all…

This paper presents a focused case study of Ann and Kay, a team of exemplary elementary teachers, as they worked to modify their mathematics instruction to be consistent with the goals of the Kentucky Education Reform Act and Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS), its innovative high-stakes assessment system. At the time of the…

Using achievement tests to hold students and schools accountable seems an obvious idea. Students come to school to learn. Tests show which students, in which schools, are meeting learning standards and which are not. Those students and schools that are falling short should be held accountable. Of course, the rationales for accountability testing…

Findings are reported from a 50-state survey of state assessment and accountability systems conducted by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education in 2000. A four-step process was used to collect and verify data for the preparation of state profiles. Nine common layers of accountability have been identified: (1) a statewide system of…

The experience of Maryland in implementing large scale assessment in the context of school reform is explored. The ways in which the state Department of Education has worked with divergent groups to build a continuing and strong school reform program are discussed. In 1987 Maryland's governor created a Commission on School Performance. This was…