School options have increased in Ohio and across the nation in recent decades. One prominent option is publicly funded scholarships (or "vouchers") that families can use to send their children to participating private schools. Today, over 75,000 Ohio students participate in one of the state's five voucher programs, the largest of which…

Describes rationale and attributes of local assessment program to augment statewide testing programs. Describes several steps to develop and implement a local assessment program, including setting priorities and goals, meeting with state officials, developing budgets and funding sources, forming development teams, providing professional…

An analytic framework is presented for examining the properties and objectives of assessments and scoring systems piloted in a number of state and district testing programs. The article explores the application of this framework, which considers the cognitive components of competence described in studies of expertise, to the analysis of science…

Trends in performance assessments across the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Illinois were explored through the development, administration, and analysis of an interstate survey. These four states were selected to represent the diversity of state-mandated testing programs relative to emphasis placed on performance assessment.…

Five articles in this special issue present the approaches to accountability found in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland, provinces that represent 85% of all Canadian elementary and secondary school students. The articles are then discussed by representatives of four national Canadian educational associations. (SLD)

A statewide performance-based accreditation system began using a performance index in 1995-96 to indicate where school districts fall in the distribution of accreditation levels. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a significant gain in the performance index in the second year. The performance index was based on the…

Results are presented from a study of portfolio use for large-scale assessment in the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) public schools that are more encouraging for the use of this form of assessment than many other studies have been. Requirements for the psychometric integrity of portfolio assessment are discussed. (SLD)

This publication is the fifth issue of "Report Card" in a series that provides information about how well North Carolina schools are serving the youth of the state. The "Report Card" presents information related primarily to the outcomes of education based on student achievement. Statewide performance results are presented…

This reference manual guides users in developing or amending school improvement plans for the 1993-96 Performance-Based Accountability Program (PBAP) of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The PBAP was established with the passage of the state's School Improvement and Accountability Act (1989). In addition to establishing a…

This research report is a summary of the information the Council of Great City Schools gathered in a survey of members about the development of standards and assessments in 1995. Some 77% (36) of the 47 member districts responded to the survey, which asked about the impetus for standards and assessment development, the areas in which they are…

As part of the educational reform movement, states and local districts have implemented outcomes-based accountability for student outcomes. Outcomes-based accountability systems are using results of both traditional assessments, such as norm-referenced tests, and authentic performance assessments in an effort to measure broad domains of student…

The Des Moines Public School System (Iowa) continually evaluates the process of teaching for learning. As part of this ongoing process, this report provides information to the Board of Directors and the public about the achievement of district students on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED), the…

The approach to assessment taken by the Colorado Springs (Colorado) Public Schools is outlined. Colorado Springs has taken a position similar to that advocated by the National Council on Educational Standards, that of multiple means of assessment applied in a dynamic and responsive manner. This approach in Colorado Springs is called Purpose Driven…

An overview of an international conference held on the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to take stock of the development and use of educational quality indicator systems at the local, state, national, and international levels is provided. Major implications and findings of the education summit held at the University of…

The end-of-grade component of the North Carolina Testing Program was implemented in 1992-93 in response to state legislation. The end-of-grade tests emphasize higher-order thinking skills and the ability of students to solve real-life types of problems. These tests also reflect the higher standards set forth in national curriculum standards for…