Scholars of education policy have consistently found that the capacity, beliefs, and values of local actors affect the relative success or failure of policy implementation. This article examines stakeholders' perceptions of education policy in South Carolina to consider the relationship between interpretations of education policy and attitudes of…

This article considers the politics of adoption of a testing regime in South Africa. While the broad features of this regime are similar to those in developed countries, there are features specific to the South African context. These emerge from a combination of external and internal pressures. External pressures derive from international testing…

Since the passage of No Child Left Behind, large-scale assessments have come to play a central role in federal and state education accountability systems. Teachers and parents have expressed a number of concerns about their state testing programs, such as too much time devoted to testing and the high-stakes use of testing for teacher evaluation.…

There is an appealing logic associated with current models of test-based accountability: the interplay among content standards, state tests, and accountability is a powerful tool to improve the quality of schools. However, when high-stakes consequences are attached to test results for schools, teachers, and students, unexpected consequences may…

While scholars of educational accountability policy will not be surprised at the power of local implementers in modifying accountability efforts, Kentucky's street-level debate splits two constituencies in defining a fair system. Advocates for the education of all children including the poor and minorities support the continuous improvement model,…

This book tells how to build a system leading to more student success beginning in elementary school and continuing through high school and postsecondary education. It identifies the key elements, describes effective practices, and shows how they come together to help students and educators succeed. "More Student Success" is an updated and…

The thesis of this paper is that achievement tests have changed their primary function from serving as indicators of educational accomplishments to becoming instruments of educational policy, and have thus come to be regarded as effective means of altering educational achievement and productivity. This assertion is explored by using examples of…

A 50-state survey was conducted to determine state indicators of quality of science and mathematics instruction in elementary schools. Data are summarized for (1) policies affecting amount of instruction; (2) state requirements for science and mathematics teacher certification; and (3) state testing programs in science and mathematics. (SLD)

Recent research findings on the economic implications of investments in the quality of education are examined in this report. "The Quality of Education and Economic Growth: A Review of Literature" (Lewis C. Solmon) reviews evidence on ways to develop educational policy that would stimulate economic growth in developing countries. "School Quality…

The desire for a national picture of educational quality remains a continuing but unresolved goal. A question has been raised among high level policymakers regarding the feasibility of using existing data collected by the states to construct education indicators for state-by-state comparisons of student performance at the national level. A…

A description and analysis of the America 2000 educational strategy emphasizes the questions of what children and youths deserve and need in terms of education, and what the process of taking children and youth seriously involves in practice for teachers, administrators, parents, and others. After stressing that America 2000 is a national, rather…

In September 1984, the Chinese government asked the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank to assist the officials of the Chinese Ministry of Education in thinking through some policy options for examinations and standardized testing. This document summarizes the descriptions of testing programs and advice provided to these Chinese…

Compulsory province-wide grade 12 examinations, administered in Alberta since 1906, were dropped in 1973; teachers were given the responsibility of assigning final grades. To assess the quality of education since then, a 1976 survey examined: (1) current grade 12 evaluation policies and practices; (2) whether or not grading has changed in the past…

In 1973, compulsory province-wide grade 12 examinations, administered in Alberta since 1906, were dropped; teachers were given the responsibility of assigning final grades. Mandated by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in 1976, this study by the Minister's Advisory Committee on Student Achievement (MACOSA) surveyed education professionals,…