Efforts to improve social studies at the elementary level have not fared well in recent years. Federal demands for greater emphasis on mathematics and reading instruction have had a direct impact on social studies instruction--eroding elementary teachers' time and energy for the subject. In spite of this changing context, many states still test…

This book is a compelling indictment of the use of high-stakes assessments with punitive consequences in public schools. The authors trace the history of the policy and document the inequities for children of poverty that undergird high-stakes testing practices. Lack of dental and medical care, environmental violence, insufficient school funding,…

When a state test and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are both measuring the same construct, the achievement gaps between subgroups on both tests should be the same. However, if a teacher or school engages in "teaching to the test" then student performance may improve on one test but not on another. We hypothesized that…

The Center on Education Policy (CEP) has been studying state high school exit examinations since 2002. This is the sixth annual report on our comprehensive study of exit exams. The information comes from several sources: our survey of states that have mandatory exit exams, interviews with state officials, media reports, state Web sites, and case…

On July 14, 2006, the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released a study that compared the performance in reading and math of 4th and 8th graders attending private and public schools. According to the NCES study, students attending private schools performed better than students attending public schools.…

This proof-of-concept investigation describes a computer-based approach for deriving the knowledge structure of individuals and of groups from their written essays, and considers the convergent criterion-related validity of the computer-based scores relative to human rater essay scores and multiple-choice test scores. After completing a…

Learner assessment is conducted in adult basic education and adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) educational programs for many reasons: to place learners at appropriate instructional levels; to measure ongoing progress; to qualify students for enrollment in academic or job training programs; to verify program effectiveness; and to demonstrate…

Neither teacher-made tests nor the Scholastic Aptitude Test are appropriate for measuring the attainment of national education goals. Most practitioners involved in discussions of national high-stakes examinations argue that new tests are needed. A new system that preserves state and local autonomy in education as it measures the attainment of…

The assessment of students with disabilities has taken on considerable importance since the passing of the "Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)" of 1990. ADA requires that assessment of individuals with disabilities be performed with any reasonable accommodations being made. The considerations involved in assessing students with…

This newsletter issue focuses on the assessment of school-aged children to: (1) determine if a child has a disability and is eligible for special services, and (2) provide information that can drive educational programming. Section 1 is an introduction which addresses a definition of assessment, how students are identified for assessment, federal…

A contemporary mathematics curriculum emphasizes using a variety of evaluation techniques to determine student achievement. Too frequently in the past, standardized norm- referenced tests and their results provided the main information related to student achievement. These tests have not presented objectives for teachers to use in teaching…

The method used for assessing German language majors and minors at Bradley University (Illinois) is described. The method uses multiple assessment techniques, and has seven parts: (1) a re-taking of the German entry placement examination; (2) review of results of a two-part exit survey (questionnaire appended), designed to obtain information about…

Authentic assessment, as referred to in this book, encompasses meaningful tasks, positive interaction between teachers and students, methods that emphasize higher-order thinking skills, and strategies that allow students to plan, monitor, and evaluate their own learning. Most important, authentic assessment means helping students to apply and…

A semester-long study examined the assessment instruments and techniques currently being used by companies participating in the Wisconsin Workplace Partnership Training Program (WWPTP). Twenty-four instruments that may be categorized as either standardized tests, competency-based and criterion-reference measures, or participatory assessment…

The Center for the Study of Evaluation Systems Project focuses on assessing the costs and impacts of managing testing, evaluation, and instructional (T/E/I) systems through a collection of nine papers: (1) "School District Evaluation Offices: Are They Worth the Money?," by Richard C. Williams and Pam McGranahan; (2) "How Two…