Nearly two dozen states now administer online exams to deliver testing to K-12 students. These tests have real consequences: their results feed into accountability systems, which have been used for more than a decade to hold schools and districts accountable for their students' learning. We examine the rollout of computer-based testing in…

The aim is to describe the development of achievement in compulsory school in the Nordic countries from the 1960s. The study relies on published results concerning literacy and numeracy from the international large-scale assessments between 1964 and 2012. Among others, the following conclusions are drawn: (1) for most countries, a small but…

This study of 139 K-12 Milwaukee public schools examines the effect of building condition on student test scores compared to other influences such as family background, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, attendance, and student discipline. The study analyzed performance on the Wisconsin Student Assessment System Mathematics, Science, Language,…

The article assesses the report of the Sandia National Laboratory's contentions about decline in Scholactic Aptitude Test Scores, National Assessment of Educational Progress achievement, and international assessments. The article suggests the report is generally right about steady trends but seriously flawed by several errors. (SM)

The goal of this research was to determine if standardized science test scores in Tennessee show evidence of continuous improvement in student achievement. The data examined as part of this study display evidence of a performance dip in Grade 4 but show an overall increase in scores across grade levels. A discussion of Tennessee's value added…

Available test score evidence does not support the common claim that student achievement has declined. On the other hand, the existing evidence cannot be used to prove that student achievement has risen. This paper offers reasons why student achievement in the past cannot be compared accurately with student achievement today: (1) tests, curricula,…

Extensive testing data from federal, state, and private sources indicate that Indiana students underperform their peers in most other states. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the shortcomings of Indiana students relative to students elsewhere are most severe among students from middle- and upper-income families. Forty percent of 3rd-graders, 52…

Argues that strategies to improve inner-school black student's test scores often include disguised affirmative action components and suggests that such strategies are not likely to close the racial gap in school performance. Provides an examination of affirmative action's argument against testing and tracking and discusses policy implications. (GR)

Examines British national examination results and related trends in the declining level of performance in modern languages relative to other subjects, suggesting that this trend to underperform in modern languages may be due in part to the relative difficulty of the examinations. The paper proposes strategies to help teachers become more rigorous…

Many Americans share the belief that public education is in crisis; however, a number of researchers have challenged that assumption. This document examines what research reveals about public education in the United States and its students. Further, it distinguishes the areas in which education can affect children from the areas that lie beyond…

The documented decline in test scores of the 1960s and 1970s and the unclear picture since then result from educational and noneducational factors. Aspects of the misuse of test scores are (1) simplistic interpretation of performance trends; (2) unsupported evaluations of schooling; and (3) a reductionist view of education. (SLD)

The major issues surrounding the problems in American education are intertwined and obliquely connected in ways that are not clear to the casual reader or to single-issue authors. This handbook was designed to provide educators with information to refute claims that the American public education system is in a state of disarray and imminent…

In recent years, public dissatisfaction with education has led educators, citizens, and policymakers to consider creating a national system of standards and assessments. This dissatisfaction resulted in movement to establish national standards and assessments in U.S. education. These standards are designed to raise the achievement levels of all…

Educators must open their eyes to the intensity of the anti-public-school efforts by many politicians and business leaders. This book provides a defense against those who innocently attack schools with misinformation and those who disingenuously attack schools with disinformation. A total of 18 chapters address 18 criticisms most commonly leveled…