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…

Four topics related to mathematics testing for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are discussed: (1) mathematics achievement; (2) past NAEP approaches; (3) needed changes; and (4) a new conceptual basis for profiling mathematical performance, including recommendations for strengthening current practice. The basic strategy for…

Schools that are concerned with evaluating their programs need more than just the average scaled assessment scores from standardized tests. To help schools, the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program produces school and district reports that contain the stories behind the averages. These reports describe the kind of students who took the…

This paper uses data collected from the 50 states in year 2000 by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) to describe how states are holding schools accountable for student performance. The data collection process focused on policies in place during the 1999-2000 school year. Profiles prepared from this data represent the policy…

The California Assessment Program (CAP) presents the Survey of Basic Skills report for grades 3 and 6 of an Alameda County elementary school for 1982. This report begins with an overview of school and district achievement and progresses to more detailed information related to performance in specific skill areas and scores for different groups of…

This paper describes the development work and research findings of an initiative to create a statewide literacy assessment in New York to inform teaching and learning and report on group performance trends. The Early Literacy Profile (ELP) is a classroom-based, standards-referenced performance assessment for students in the primary grades…

A series of studies of the experience of employers with schools and their graduates in the 1980s has established that employers want employees with cognitive and subject matter skills, but with other skills as well. These skills are summarized, and the development of an Employment Readiness Profile is proposed, which would be an assessment…

Establishing and refining a framework for performance assessment is especially difficult in large-scale settings that can involve hundreds of judges and thousands of students. This presentation advocates the interactive use of two complementary analytic perspectives and illustrates the approach in the context of the College Entrance Examination…

New Mexico has established a system of student achievement assessment that consists of four coordinated testing programs. District and state results are given for these assessments. The Reading Assessment, consisting of a norm-referenced test and a criterion-referenced test, is used in grades 1 and 2 to assess student mastery of essential…

The use of classroom assessments in the context of the new assessment system for California schools, the California Learning Assessment System, is discussed by describing the California Learning Record (CLR). The CLR emphasizes the central role of teachers in equitable assessment of student learning for students of diverse cultural and ethnic…

The relationships among factors reported on a set of report cards developed for local school districts in Tennessee were studied. The analysis offers information about how selected factors relate to student outcome. Each year, Tennessee's State Board of Education produces a report card on each school district using data provided by the district…

This "Profile" offers a snapshot of state assessment systems by describing some of their fundamental characteristics. Its focus is on what individual states are doing in terms of developing their own standards and assessments and how they report these results. Two pages of information are presented for each state (but not for the…

State testing programs often attempt to provide annual information for use in student guidance and qualification, school and program evaluation, and broad policy decisions. With the development of a new type of assessment instrument, the "duplex design," the several functions of state testing programs can be served in a single test…

Colorado conducts an assessment program to provide a statewide profile of student achievement. Results for fall 1988 and fall 1991 are presented in a series of tables. A standardized, nationally norm-referenced achievement test, the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, was administered in 1988 to students in grades 4, 7, and 10, and again to the same…

While the publication of school report cards and profiles is common in a number of states, their contents and formats vary as they represent the concerns and initiatives of policymakers. Over the past several years, detailed analyses have been conducted of the report cards of southern and southeastern states. This report compared report cards and…