Standardized testing is an external control mechanism for K-12 public schools. Principals, nested between internal and external influences, must manage the tension created by testing's roles as both an internal improvement tool and as an external control mechanism. Five competing narratives, each shaped by author academic background, significantly…

The author argues that because citizenship education has such a long-term aim--adult behavior--it is very difficult for teachers or educational researchers to assess its results. Citizenship itself is a concept which varies over time and between countries. She reviews some European efforts at civic education. (SJL)

Twenty-six papers concerning Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I program evaluation--presented at the 1978 American Educational Research Association/National Council on Measurement in Education meeting--are summarized. Speakers from the federal government are: C.T. Cross (see ED 156 695); R.L. Fishbein; and D. Ozenne. State department…

A number of organizational, personal and methodological characteristics have been identified through the literature which inhibit or can be used to facilitate the use of evaluation and testing information. Inhibitors of information usage include organizational characteristics such as loosely coupled and decentralized systems, personal…

Using research findings and statistics to support a policy argument often leads to misinterpretations and exaggerations of public school performance. Two experts illustrate this point by discussing examples of distorted high school drop-out rates, student performance on standardized tests, and international comparisons of U.S. and Japanese…

Mountains of data over 10 years show that the educational sky is not falling. This article deplores critics' disregard of the Sandia Report, American policymakers' test-craziness and education/economic productivity obsessions, the overrated "Texas Miracle," National Education Goals, and weighty student backpacks. (MLH)

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) recently expanded its national survey to include state representative samples on a trial basis. In 1992, the NAEP undertook studied non-response in the trial assessment through two simulation projects. The first looked at state assessments that were similar to NAEP tests for states with low…

Although dealing broadly with issues involving program evaluation, this paper is especially concerned with large-scale evaluations of federally funded education programs that are national in scope and, to some extent at least, compensatory in nature. The paper concentrates on a few basic problem areas that seem inherent in the concept of…

Studies published since 1965 on the relationship between classroom behavior and academic achievement are reviewed. Criteria are established for selecting the studies, the research is assessed, and recommendations for future research are made. (MH)

This paper traces the process of designing and administering a structured survey on dropping out of school to demonstrate the means by which working with organizations and their clients impacts research methodology. A dropout accounting system had been developed for the Ysleta Independent School District, a district with an enrollment of 50,000…

Twelve common errors which can invalidate an otherwise sound evaluation are identified, and ways to avoid them are presented. The hazards are: (1) grade-equivalent scores; (2) inappropriate statistical adjustments with nonequivalent control groups; (3) administering norm-referenced tests at inappropriate times of the school year; (4) inappropriate…

Many people hope that the unique skills and perspectives of anthropologists can help them to make the contributions to social programs that have eluded other social scientists. Ethnography promises to make a significant contribution to evaluation of educational innovations. Before this promise can be realized, however, there are many practical and…

At the 1989 meeting of the National Faculty of the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), faculty members were invited to present testimony on what they viewed as the most pressing research and policy issues in the fields of testing, evaluation, and standards. These views are expressed in this document,…