The National Assessment of Educational Progress in-school sampling design is a three-stage stratified design. Stratification variables include region, size of community and socioeconomic status. The three levels of sample selection are Primary Sampling Units (PSUs), schools and students. In general, two and sometimes three PSUs are selected from…

Means of interpreting norm-referenced tests to lead to more accurate reporting results are discussed, with particular emphasis on state-level and district-level data. Suggestions fall into the categories of documentation, frequency norming, and multiple form use. (TJH)

This paper describes the approach to consolidating multiple measures of student achievement used by the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) in the 1997-1998 reporting cycle. Beginning in 1996-1997, all California schools that served Title I students or were involved in the state's Coordinated Compliance Review process were required to…

This paper presents two examples of how methodological research in testing and evaluation simultaneously served the needs of both researchers and practitioners. The first example focuses on Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE) research in writing assessment. This research investigated issues in domain definition, cognitive processing…

Beginning with the planning stages of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), careful attention has been given to the design of efficient probability sampling methods for the selection of class-age respondents and the assignment of test packages. With these methods, it is possible for NAEP researchers to make relatively precise…

This report presents the results of a working meeting to provide guidance to staff at the National Center for Education Statistics on: (1) establishing guidelines for inclusion of limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), field tests, research, and development; (2) modifications in the…

The multimethod approach used to collect a assessment data at the local and state levels for the Louisiana Teacher Assessment Program is described. This program develops information about a new teacher's competence that can be used to suggest instructional improvement activities and to decide on qualifications for certification. The first…

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) of the National Center for Education Statistics offers the most comprehensive picture available of elementary and secondary schools in the United States. The value of the SASS would be even greater if information on districts and schools could be related directly to student outcomes. A relatively inexpensive…

In the 1970s and 1980s, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) built a longitudinal record as the Nation's Report Card based on periodic brief assessments of a modest but representative sample of the nation's students. In 1990, data collection was expanded from a sample of 10,000 students in each grade and subject area to 100,000…

The seven chapters of this theme issue explore current developments in research into educational accountability. State educational performance reporting policies, resource allocation for accountability, and educational reforms in Canada, Hong Kong, and Malaysia are discussed. The final chapters consider accountability policy research. (SLD)

Commemorating the work of Anne Cleary, the author considers the need for research on assessment in the practice context, provides an example of research in context, and proposes general areas of development for assessment research in the context of practice. Research has shown that effects of testing programs on practice are often not those that…

Efficient methods of using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to analyze National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data files are discussed. One error in the NAEP SPSS file is discussed, and another error (which may be system-dependent) is mentioned. In addition, purely mathematical methods are used to address the…

The original National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been criticized for its limited ability to provide information that is useful at a variety of levels. As a result, Congress authorized a voluntary NAEP Trial State Assessment Program for the assessment of mathematics at grade 8 in 1990, reading at grade 4 in 1992, and mathematics…

As the latest in a series of studies analyzing the data reported on Tennessee's school district report cards, this paper focuses on finding a common statistical treatment to examine the impact of predictor variables on dependent variables. Investigations of the 1988-89 report card data explored the relationships among eight school district…

The first and second International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement Science Studies examined and compared science achievement in 19 and 26 countries, respectively. This paper considered 10 technical issues that arose in these 2 studies of science education and achievement. The issues discussed were the: (1) need for the…