The city of New Orleans has embarked on an historic experiment reinventing its schools--once considered among the worst in the country--from a centralized, single district model of education to a two district model in which both the Recovery School District (RSD) and the preexisting Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) both operate direct run and…

Authors are officials at the Education Department of the National Union of Teachers and have been monitoring the policies of LEAs concerning testing and assessment in schools. Here is their report. (Editor/RK)

Describes results of research by the Test User Qualifications Working Group that can be applied to improving testing practices, including 86 test use competencies and 7 factors accounting for misuse; a test classification system; and empirically based test purchaser qualification forms. (SLD)

Reports on methods of school assessment of student achievement in Canada. It includes a brief description of the tests that are commonly used at the intermediate level and the ways in which they are used. (Author)

Describes Phase Four (contextualized literacy assessment) in the evolution of writing assessment, which would replace accountability approaches to assessment with an ecological model focusing on good instruction. Itemizes specific changes which could accompany movement into Phase Four by established assessment communities. (MM)

Testing, assessment, and evaluation, all based on measurement, are assuming increasingly important roles in American society. They are becoming a more vital force in the world of work, in education, and in the processes of determining the effectiveness of social institutions. Educational Testing Service (ETS) convened a conference for education…

Identifies questions pertinent to the issue of assessment. Notes that comparison of student achievements has negative social and psychological consequences. Suggests problems which are inherent in the process of assessment by objectives. Urges the measurement of the progress of each pupil from one stage of learning to the next. (KO)

The science achievement of American students ages 9, 13, and 17 was measured during the 1976-77 school year. Overall, 543 different questions were asked in the cognitive assessment of science at the three age levels. The questions were developed according to a two-dimensional matrix. One dimension, the classification of the cognitive abilities…

Examines the continuing controversy on test scores and student achievement in New Jersey. (RK)

This paper discusses students with disabilities who do not fit into large-scale traditional assessment systems, seeks to clarify what is meant by "gray areas of assessment," delineates the primary issues that surround and contribute to gray areas, and provides suggestions for developing fully inclusive systems. It provides brief case studies of…

Discussed are incorrect uses of matriculation examinations. Suggestions are made for possible changes in the secondary school systems including several types of senior secondary schools for those not seeking employment after four years of schooling. Recommendations are made for ways of matriculation examination scores. (DS)

Described is a study which was designed to investigate the effects of two evaluation methods on the learning process in mathematics courses. States that in one method students were given daily tests; the second method relied on weekly tests. No significant differences were noted; however certain trends were apparent. (RT)

This is a condensed report of a study commissioned by the Minister's Advisory Committee on Student Achievement (MACOSA). The study was designed to provide information about current levels of achievement in mathematics among students in Alberta schools and to provide a data base for future assessments. The test was given to third-, sixth-, ninth-,…

This report was compiled to serve as a reference on assessments of achievement in pre-college mathematics. Patterns of mathematical assessments are discussed in terms of the history and nature of assessments of achievement, the relationship between assessment and minimum competency testing, and the current status of state assessment programs.…

A computer simulation procedure was developed to reproduce the overall pattern of results obtained in the Educational Testing Service Growth Study. Then simulated data for seven sets of 10,000 to 15,000 cases were analyzed, and findings compared on the basis of correlations between estimated and true growth scores. Findings showed that growth was…