Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) released the first comprehensive study of assessment perceptions in 2012 that surveyed parents, teachers, and district administrators. In the intervening years, the landscape has shifted dramatically; indeed, it continues to shift every day. With new standards, accountability assessments, and ways of…

An ideal system of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), from the local school district perspective, must follow several principles based on the 1985 Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing: (1) Testing must be viewed by teachers and students as worthwhile. (2) Test results must be presented in a timely and useful…

The role of the state government in higher education assessment is clearly expanding as both the state's interest and investment in higher education grows. Currently, patterns of state involvement vary widely--from indirect incentive programs to direct legislation or regulatory action. Institutional assessment and the resulting reform must be…

A number of higher order cognitive skills are used in the task of evaluating arguments. Such skills should be assessed because the ability to evaluate arguments is an important one in all subject areas. In addition, it seems reasonable to assume that these evaluative skills will be representative of those required by other cognitively demanding…

The British Columbia Learning Assessment Program is a province-wide program designed to aid in decision-making processes about curriculum revisions; preservice teacher education and in-service programs; resource allocations; and future research needs; and to inform various publics of educational attainment. The article provides an overview of the…

Ways to improve the validity of assessment of college students are discussed. Validity problems often have occurred because the purpose of assessment was not clear. Traditionally, college students have been tested for admission and placement. However, the results of these tests have been used for other purposes, such as comparing institutions.…

A major issue facing the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Writing Assessment is its relationship with the most frequently encountered measurement practices among State Education Agencies (SEAs) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs). Should NAEP conduct its assessments in a fashion that represents how things should be, or reflect…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has the potential to become a national data system and to meet the rapidly expanding needs for educational information. Historically, NAEP has had the objectives of providing relevant information for federal, state, and local policymakers; establishing a research database; and monitoring…

This reaction paper stresses the importance of matching the qualitatively different types of educational decisions with appropriate types of tests. Reading instruction is used to illustrate that while standardized tests are helpful for student classification and program accountability, they are hazardous to instructional process decisions which…

The educational assessment movement holds considerable promise for encouraging college faculty to exercise collective responsibility to improve the quality of learning. Current efforts toward improving higher education include the Association of American Colleges' report, "Integrity in the College Curriculum"; William J. Bennett's…

Social studies assessment for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) should focus on students' oral and written discourse on social topics. Discourse is language produced by the student with the intention of providing a narrative, argument, explanation, or analysis. The assessment of discourse is important because: emphasis on…

Testing practices in Lesotho are described. The Primary School Leaving Examinations are administered on a national level. The Junior Certificate Examinations, developed by subject committees, determine eligibility for the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate. Vocational and technical educational programs are also evaluated. Continuous student…

Testing can serve an important function in the selective admissions process, but the emphasis should be shifted from measurement to assessment of learning, from people evaluation to program evaluation, and from a concern with aptitude to a concern with accomplishment. Such changes would help testing improve teaching and learning. (Author/JMD)

Accrediting associations assess colleges in order to find out what has been accomplished, and to find out how it might be better accomplished. Assessment of educational outcomes can be a useful way to demonstrate the success of alternative means. However, accrediting agencies do not rely exclusively on outcome measures, since they only assess what…

A number of political issues are involved in educational testing and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Many school officials are disturbed by the number of tests administered and the information and instructional time lost; they are reluctant to accede to further voluntary testing programs which might duplicate current…