Chile has followed the international trend of implementing a standards-based reform, with the particularity of encompassing both academic and non-academic outcomes. Drawing on interview data from four school cases in Santiago, Chile, this study examines the role of attitudes in reform enactment, analyzing whether and how school actors' attitudes…

This backgrounder details the scope of the following critical forum concerning Texas House Bill 51 (TX HB 51) of the 81st Legislature, also referred to as the emerging research university bill. In its totality the journal issue considers the impact of TX HB 51 on the organizational behavior of comprehensive regional institutions in the state of…

This self-study explores an educational policy-making project initiated, facilitated, and implemented by direct stake-holders through a deliberative, intentional process involving teacher educators, policy-makers, and state regulators. As such, it serves as an example of a high-stakes political change process using principles of deliberative…

In the United States, as public demands for quality teachers have escalated, there has been a corresponding increase in national policy efforts to tie the standards of student success to teacher preparation, licensing, and evaluation. This conceptual paper examines how national authorities used specific policy tools to usurp the state's…

Recent incorporation of a performance assessment in Arizona's test mandate provides an opportunity to examine the assumptions and beliefs underlying measurement-driven reform. Efforts to meld cognitive-constructivist beliefs about pupil learning and assessment contradict behaviorist beliefs about changing teachers and reforming schools. Mandates…

This study looks at the interview responses of teachers and administrators in five secondary schools in Ontario (Canada) to government-initiated accountability strategies. Several questions were posed: (1) What were the perceived effects of these strategies? (2) What motives did teachers and administrators ascribe to the government for introducing…

The Arizona Student Assessment Program (ASAP) epitomizes the principle on which measurement-driven reform is based, "You get what you assess." This policy study examines the ideologies and intentions of groups instrumental in the creation and implementation of a performance-based assessment reform. The study was conducted by interviewing…

In 1991 Arizona embarked on a program to change schools and make them more accountable for educational achievement. The instrument of reform was an assessment program known as the Arizona Student Assessment Program (ASAP), the most notable feature of which was a performance assessment that was added to an already extensive battery of…

An overview of cost analysis is provided as it relates to a particular educational reform--the use of performance or authentic assessment on a large scale as a means of transforming entire educational systems. The focus of the inquiry is the New Standards Project (NSP), a joint effort of the National Center on Education and the Economy and the…

Since the 1980s there have been several attempts in the United States to depart from the single-salary schedule in place since the 1920s and to apply performance-related or merit pay (PRP) to teachers, assessed either at the school level or individually. Meanwhile, in England, a performance-management process is now being implemented that is also…

Current assessments in education are described, with particular attention to assessments intended for vocational education in order to help teachers, administrators, and policy makers make sense of the variety of efforts now taking place. At the moment, there is a great deal of controversy surrounding educational assessment. Central questions are…

Assessments should improve performance by providing usable feedback, and should not merely audit it. Problems with educational accountability policies stem from a flawed view of student assessment. Intellectual excellence cannot be obtained via one-time mandated tests composed of proxies for real challenges. Common standards should be developed…

This case study traces the evolution of curriculum-related educational reforms in California, concentrating on those that have influenced mathematics and science. These reform efforts are examined in the framework of the state's political and policy context. Data came from interviews, a synthesis of the research literature, and newspaper accounts…

The third conference on improving mathematics and science assessment brought together more than 550 educators, researchers, and policymakers. Recommendations and information from the conference are incorporated into this report. Conference consensus was that students must recognize that there is more to assessment than grades and scores and begin…

The equity of a national examination system using authentic assessments is discussed from technological and historical perspectives. Testing is, in fact, a technology embedded in sociotechnical systems such as education, government, and business. The historical perspective is important because it provides lessons for present policy. The first…