Every classroom should have a well-educated, professional teacher, and school systems should recruit, prepare, and retain teachers who are qualified to do the job. Yet in practice, American public schools generally do a poor job of systematically developing and evaluating teachers. Many policy makers have recently come to believe that this failure…

The ever-increasing reliance on student performance on tests as a way of holding schools and educators accountable is discussed. Comparisons are made between state accountability requirements and the accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. The resulting mixed messages being given by the two systems are…

When test data from different sources conflict, the truth is often found somewhere in the middle. As this article shows, reports of achievement trends can be heavily influenced by the particular definition of achievement represented and by testing conditions. Recent progress in science and mathematics must be carefully nurtured in the nineties.…

Traces the history of standardized testing in the United States and reviews the differing views of testing advanced over the years. Illustrates some controversies and pendulum swings evident in two test uses, grade-to-grade promotion and college admissions. (SLD)

Four considerations that enhance the instructional importance of tests are content match, use of feedback, a flagging function, and the increasing tendency to attach sanctions and rewards to standardized test results. These sanctions are apt to force greater attention to the other three characteristics, strengthening the links between instruction…

The contribution of item response theory to the validity of interpretations of achievement test results is reviewed in the context of four applications. The applications include construction of scales for achievement tests, test construction, development of customized tests, and investigation of the influence of instruction on achievement tests.…

Assessment and accountability have played prominent roles in many reform efforts during the past 50 years. This digest reviews features of assessment and accountability that influence the trustworthiness of information provided and impacts educational practices and student learning. It discusses reform based on assessment and accountability,…

The new Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT I) measures high-level reasoning in verbal and mathematical domains not tied to any particular instructional experiences, providing an alternative way of demonstrating scholastic ability that may not be reflected in grades. The relationship of College Board testing programs to possible national content…

Assessment and accountability have played prominent roles in many reform efforts during the past 50 years. Reviews features of assessment and accountability that influence the trustworthiness of information provided and impact educational practices and student learning. Discusses reform based on assessment and accountability, describes salient…

Reviews features of assessment and accountability that influence the trustworthiness of information provided and impact educational practices and student learning. Discusses reform based on assessment and accountability, describes salient features in reform efforts, and makes suggestions for assessment and accountability systems. (SLD)

Reviews the Anchor Test Study which had two major objectives: to provide a method for translating a child's score on any one of eight widely used standardized reading tests into a score on any of the other tests and to provide new nationally representative norms for each of these eight tests. (Author/BJG)

The adequacy of linking statewide standardized test results to the National Assessment of Educational Progress by using equipercentile equating procedures was investigated using statewide mathematics data from four states. Results suggest that the linkings are not sufficiently trustworthy to make comparisons based on the tails of the distribution.…

This paper evaluates widely used, standardized tests of reading within the framework of four interdependent reading components: (1) decoding speed and accuracy; (2) accuracy, fluency, and flexibility of determining semantic meaning of words; (3) sentence comprehension; and (4) passage dependent sentence comprehension. Among the types of…

The nature of admissions tests and their intended uses are reviewed. Evidence regarding the validity of tests, their contributions to admissions decisions, the effects of coaching, and possible bias in the predictive meaning of test scores for women and minorities are discussed. (Author/SLD)

Results of a 1987 report--indicating that elementary students of all 50 states were above the national average--were assessed via 2 national mail and telephone surveys. Although results of data for 35 states support the general findings of the 1987 report, it appears that more specific results are less sensational. (TJH)