School accountability decisions based on standardized tests hinge on the degree of alignment of the test with a state's standards. Yet no established criteria were available for judging strength of alignment. Previous studies of alignment among tests, standards, and teachers' instruction have yielded mixed results that are difficult to interpret…

Over the past several years, student growth and growth models have received a lot of attention, in both the charter school sector and the larger education community, as an important indicator for measuring school quality. Educators and policy makers alike have been won over by the argument that because measures of student growth examine the…

An outcome of the excellence movement has been an increase in state control of education, especially through state-mandated testing, as testing has become the preferred means of trying to effect change in education following the popularity of accountability and minimum competency testing. Suggestions for using tests prudently are listed. (DCS)

This survey on modifications allowed for students with disabilities by 30 states in statewide criterion-referenced testing programs found no universal agreement about modifications. Accommodations in Test Setting and Test Scheduling were more frequently allowed than revisions in Test Directions or Test Format. Assistance devices and accommodations…

This speech presents instructional evaluation techniques currently used in Belleville, Illinois. These are based on two criteria: (1) community opinion, and (2) performance level of students. To discover community opinions, needs, priorities, and levels of support, questionnaires are distributed, presenting a series of curricular goals and…

This booklet provides parents, teachers, administrators, and policymakers with information about achievement testing which is relevant to their needs. The first section presents an overview of the current market for standardized achievement tests and provides key definitions, distinctions between ability and achievement testing, comparisons of…

Designed to help school administrators and board members promote instructional excellence, this publication reports survey results involving over 35 school districts in Northern California, Utah, and Nevada engaged in instructional improvement efforts. Specifically, the report describes alternative strategies used to organize and manage three…

Studies that trace change over time are essential to inferring how people change. To add understanding to the change process in school systems in Georgia that demonstrated improved Criterion Referenced Test (CRT) scores for several consecutive years, this study was conducted. Interviews were held with 90 teachers, administrators, and supervisors…

Reviews the Standard Assessment Tasks used to evaluate pupil performance relative to the National Curriculum in England and Wales. Asserts that the system of assigning students to one of 10 levels of attainment is criterion-referenced, whereas the test is norm-referenced. (CFR)

Conditions of language and literacy are considered by a Texas educator and presented at a 1982 hearing held by the National Commission on Excellence in Education. It is noted that a 1979 policy at the University of Texas system established a freshman-level remedial English course for credit. At the University of Texas, San Antonio, this course is…

In an effort to examine issues raised by the effort to assess the performance of educational institutions, a project focusing on the social purposes and intellectual foundations of assessment practices in education was initiated. The primary goal of the project was to explore the possibility of developing new, more appropriate educational…

This report summarizes the Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS) results for 1984. TABS assesses student achievement in mathematics, reading, and writing, including composition. The criterion-referenced tests are based on stated learning objectives and are administered annually to Texas students in grades 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12. Grade 3 results…

Examines the British government's goal of introducing criterion-referenced, formative student evaluation in primary schools. Reports on a case study in which the reliability of a Standard Assessment Task was examined in three second-grade classrooms. Questions whether or not the decision to drop the task from the test was correct. (CFR)

Goal-referenced tests and standardized achievement tests were used to assess the basic skill levels for reading, writing, and mathematics of students attending Parkrose Public Schools of Portland (Oregon) during the 1983-84/1985-86 period. Focus is on estimating the instructional program's success, providing a resource for planning and…

Research identified a literacy assessment program applicable to the adult population functioning at pre-General Education Development (GED) test levels. An attempt to align the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) with the Illinois State Board of Education Learning Standards failed. ACT Work Keys emerged as the recommended and most effective…