The New Standards Project has designed research to describe educational standards in other countries using an ethnographic case-study approach. Data review and analysis are organized by fundamental questions, the answers to which constitute a contextualized account of what students are expected to know and be able to do. (Author/SLD)

A structured Delphi procedure was used to secure the informed judgments of three types of adult participants (n=170) on appropriate standards for the North Carolina High School Competency Tests in Reading and Mathematics. The feasibility of the method and the amount of agreement between groups are discussed. (Author/PN)

Ten factors relevant to the standard-setting decision on important tests (i.e., high school diploma tests) are proposed as a basis for a standard-setting preparation program. It is suggested that, typically, those who set standards have had little or no experience and would benefit from formal preparation. (SLD)

The implications of international assessments in setting world-class performance standards are explored. Possible uses of recent international assessments as benchmarks against which to compare the achievement of U.S. students are illustrated. Characteristics of international assessments that affect their usefulness as benchmarks are discussed.…

Studies of the mathematics assessments of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are summarized. One study found that omit rates for NAEP test items were higher for African Americans and Hispanics than for whites. The other found that descriptions and examples for the 1992 mathematics achievement levels were misleading. (SLD)