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…

The development and use of Oregon's Proficiency-Based Admission Standards System (PASS) are described and results of some evaluations of the PASS system are presented. PASS is to be used for college entry in Oregon and is designed to promote the seamlessness of high school and college education by guaranteeing that students would have the…

This report provides information on student performance at the state, regional, and school system levels on end-of-grade (grades 3-8 reading and mathematics) multiple-choice tests and end-of-course (high school subjects) multiple-choice tests administered in 1997-98 for 117 public school systems and 35 charter schools. Beginning in the 1992-93…

Chapter 188 of the Massachusetts Acts of 1985 established a statewide testing program that began in 1986. The Massachusetts Testing Program functions to improve curriculum and instruction in the public schools and districts, identify students needing assistance in mastering basic skills in the classroom, and make results available to the public.…

The measurement dilemmas involved in assessing the national educational goals established by the President and governors at the 1989 education summit are discussed. The first and most important choice is what to assess and whether to align assessment to the vision of curriculum reform or to the curriculum that students are actually experiencing.…

The Mississippi Teacher Assessment Instruments (MTAIs) contain 16 teaching competencies (14 competencies measured by 3 separate instruments of the MTAI, and 2 performance standards assessed by the local district). The Teaching Plans and Materials MTAI guides assessment of beginning teachers' competence in planning instruction, selecting…

This monograph provides an overview of the issues surrounding inclusion and testing accommodations for students with disabilities and presents six papers discussing the issues. "Including Students with Disabilities in Systemic Efforts To Measure Outcomes: Why Ask Why?" (Bob Algozzine) argues that excluding any student from testing…

In the spring of 1990, over 9,000 4th-, 8th- and 12th-grade students (only 6 percent of all students in Massachusetts) were assessed using open-ended mathematical, scientific, social studies, and reading concepts. Beginning with the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program for 1992, open-ended questions will be administered to all students and…

The challenge of making educational programs accessible to people with disabilities, combined with the increasing emphasis on testing and other forms of assessment, has translated into a need for accommodations in the testing and assessment of people with disabilities. Typically, test accommodations are provided for people with sensory and/or…

The mandated minimum competency programs of two states--Pennsylvania and Maryland--are examined, and some of the effects on school districts of raising the testing stakes are reviewed. In a survey conducted during the winter of 1986-87 in Pennsylvania and Maryland, one teacher, one principal, and one central office staff member each from 277…

The Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) is designed to improve curriculum and instruction in the public schools. The MEAP tests all students in grades 4, 8, and 12 in major curriculum areas biennially. The test is not designed to yield scores for individual students. This document describes the content of the assessment instruments…

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…

The Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) was developed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), in response to Texas House Bill 72 (1984), which mandated a new basic skills assessment program for mathematics, reading, and writing at grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. This is one in a series of Instructional Strategies Guides designed to…

This three-part document provides strategies for evaluating the impact of a province-wide testing program in Ontario (Canada) and reviews the literature on the impact of testing. Part One identifies the effects of province-wide examinations for selected high school courses and proposes four studies to monitor these effects: (1) an analysis of data…

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…