Defining and measuring success are not merely process steps, but critical conversations that shape how education is understood and delivered. They influence how individuals within and outside the system perceive the goals of education. They shape the incentives for stakeholders seeking to improve educational outcomes. Methods of measuring success…

This year's Action Guide examines the need for new ways of measuring student success. Academic test scores are just one method of measuring student progress, offering an incomplete picture of student learning and growth. Educators and state leaders recognize that serving all students well requires focusing on their individual needs, including…

Due to the broad acceptance of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and other comparative studies as instruments of policymaking, its accuracy is essential. This article attempts to demonstrate omissions in the conceptualisation, and consequently in calculation and interpretation, of one of the central points of PISA 2006 and…

Steps for writing measurable objectives for students which reflect employable standards include: (1) the outcome state, (2) the condition statement, and (3) the criterion statement. Measurable objectives will help students to know if they are employable and, if not, what is needed to achieve employment. (EA)

This paper presents a comprehensive review of special and remedial education practice in formative evaluation of goal attainment among mildly handicapped students. First, the relationship of formative evaluation to the range of special education assessment practice and its importance to the field are described. Then, four critical issues in…

This handbook contains suggestions for the use of results from the New Mexico High School Proficiencies Examination (NMHSPE) and describes procedures for developing programs and planning intervention strategies. The information and guidelines will facilitate administrative action for program improvement through integration of the NMHSPE results…

Three basic areas of definition, measurement, and research, voiced as concerns by members of the National Council of Measurement in Education (NCME) to its Task Force on Measurement Problems in Competency-Based Programs, are used as an organizer for a sponsored symposia and the papers in this monograph. The problem of the definition of competency…

This document provides measurement devices to help meet the needs of student learners for feedback on teaching behavior and the requirements of supervising teachers for information about student performance. (The term "student learners" as used here refers to high school students being trained in a laboratory program.) A master's project essay,…

Thorough planning is required before implementing an examination for a high school diploma. It was decided in 1977 that Alabama educators would establish minimum competencies for grades 3, 6, and 9. The competencies for grade 9 then became the skills to be assessed on the Alabama High School Graduation Examination (AHSGE), first given to eleventh…

One of a 12-volume set, this guide in language arts offers general program and specific course goals intended to clarify the purposes of education for students, teachers, parents, and the community. These goals provide explicit learning statements, define the nature and function of communication, and describe the values related to language arts.…

This combined discussion guide and questionnaire, intended for public or professional audiences, consists of three major sections. The first section is a narrative background description of major issues, options, and arguments for minimum competency testing: Will you test minimum competencies? What competencies will you require? How will you…