A number of forces are likely to contribute to future issues in educational assessment: (1) reduction in government resources, (2) financial pressures broadening the diversity of post-secondary applicant pools; (3) adult student emergence at the post secondary level; (4) concern with accountability of schools and educators; (5) strengthening of…

This article attempts to provide British educators, who face a similar trend, with a synthesis of some major developments in the Accountability in Education movement in the United States. (Author/SJL)

Sections 51215-51217 of California's Educational Code require that school districts in that state provide remedial instruction to students who do not pass district-developed proficiency tests. As a result of this requirement, school districts have had to create remedial courses for some 100,000 students who did not pass one or more tests in…

This review of the background and current status of state level activities in testing documents the shift in locus of educational control from local school districts to state agencies, the key dimensions characterizing such programs, factors influencing their implementation and their possible impact. (Author/AEF)

Mounting concern for student achievement in writing has refocused attention on the features of writing assessment necessary to represent a student's skill fairly, usefully and economically. If writing tests are to fulfill their intended function, the writing assignments and evaluative criteria of large scale tests and instruction must interrelate.…

This report describes court challenges to high school exit exams for students with disabilities, explores the legal and public policy issues, and discusses implications for educators. Legal challenges include claims brought under the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, and under disability statutes, including the…

The last of three volumes studying the relationship between writing research and instruction, this four-part report focuses on writing assessment. The first section details specifications for an instrument assessing student writing samples and the following composition skills: word processing, sentence processing, paragraph development,…

Discussed and compared are mathematics competencies as prescribed in grades 1-6 for seven state and local school districts utilizing the descriptive method characteristic of the Competency Based Education (CBE) movement. General comments on the historical background of the minimum competency trend and its distinguishing characteristics in various…

Three sets of goals useful for assessing student competencies in speaking and listening are reviewed in this paper. The first instrument examined, derived from a report of that Speech Communication Association's National Project on Speech Communication Competencies for all grades, lists (1) five assumptions concerning the nature of communication…

The legislative history and provisions, implementation, and intended use of 12 state-mandated programs are described. Florida's program was mandated in 1971. The other states (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) initiated programs after 1975; most are in their…

This report provides Minnesota legislators with background information on establishing state educational standards and periodic testing to measure student progress. Scientific management, the accountability movement, and the basic education movement were educational trends of the 1970's providing pressure on states to set standards to improve…

In order to encourage school districts to include students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) in educational assessments, this report discusses issues involved in assessing students with LEP. Topics include: (1) the role of testing in education and the different types of tests mandated by educational reform legislation; (2) characteristics of…

The justification of minimal competency programs relative to perceived educational problems, the focus on individual pupil certification and sanctioning, and the lack of clear resolution on many technical problems, give rise to a number of policy issues critical to minimal competency testing programs which are tied to graduation. Three program…