Recent years have produced a surge in interest in improving state assessment programs. Many states are designing new assessments. Much of this innovation is aimed at addressing longstanding areas of unhappiness with typical domain-sampled, end-of-year state assessments: States want to streamline assessment activities, enhance the instructional…

The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) is the nation's oldest and largest urban school choice program, offering private-school scholarships to low-income students in the city of Milwaukee since 1990. In the early years of the program, voucher schools were not required to test their students, though many of them did so using nationally normed…

This study examined math achievement of elementary school students when Math Out of the Box (MTB), an inquiry-based math program, was used to supplement curriculum. The sample consisted of 767 New Jersey students in the third, fourth, and fifth grades, with approximately one third using MTB. Math achievement was measured by an assessment…

In the absence of tests, society would be faced with restricted and subjective bases for evaluating students and educational programs. Among the benefits lost would be diagnosis of learning needs, sorting of individuals by skills, feedback to students to cope with school stresses, and transmitting of intellectual values. (Author/CM)

This booklet comprises excerpts from the proceedings of a conference held in Maryland to explore the related themes of accountability and the evaluation of compensatory education. Participants at the conference were administrators, teachers, aides, and parents who met in small-group work sessions. The conference is judged to have succeeded in…

Three methods are presented for interpolating fall norms from data derived for tests administered in spring. One method used the midpoint between two spring administrations, the second adjusted for date of fall testing, while the third method used experimental data that showed slower growth rates during the summer months. (CTM)

The Leadership Laboratory for Student Development program, its rationale, objectives, and evaluation findings are discussed. The Leadership Lab, created to prepare a student leader to interact with a variety of people found in the typical school setting, provides students with structured learning experiences that progress from basic communication…

Clearly defined goals are described as the first component of a program evaluation. The goals of this booklet are: to demonstrate the need for clearly written statements of goals, outcomes, and objectives; to provide examples; to provide a method of deriving goals from already published materials; to demonstrate the relationship between writing…

This paper delineates several problems which arise when criterion-referenced test results are used to evaluate the effects of a specific educational treatment. Focus is on these topics: (1) the aggregation of individual students' data on objectives, (2) the sensitivity of the instrument to instruction, (3) the interpretation of…

Due to a concern regarding the validity of Chicago public elementary schools standardized test scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, a test audit was conducted. The audit was limited to 40 schools. Two schools were selected from each of the 20 administrative districts, with each school testing one seventh- and one eighth-grade class. These…

The aims of the report are threefold: (1) to assess the general level of social studies learning of seventh grade students in California public schools; (2) to provide a comparison of the general level of social studies learning to those of other curriculum areas; and (3) to provide a comparison of the relative level of social studies learning by…

Testing can serve an important function in the selective admissions process, but the emphasis should be shifted from measurement to assessment of learning, from people evaluation to program evaluation, and from a concern with aptitude to a concern with accomplishment. Such changes would help testing improve teaching and learning. (Author/JMD)

The validity of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) and problems associated with inappropriate norms were investigated in eleven senior high schools in Phoenix, Arizona. CTBS validity was assessed in three ways: (1) correlation between test scores and number of courses taken in that subject; (2) correlation between CTBS scores and…

The Wichita Follow Through Project (Tucson Early Education Model) involved kindergarten through third grade pupils from low and middle income families in four elementary schools. The 1975-76 longitudinal evaluation was based primarily on results from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (grades three-six). Also included were the Metropolitan Readiness…

The following papers were delivered: Introductory Remarks, John W. Evans; An Evaluator's Perspective, Michael J. Wargo; Problems of Achievement Tests in Program Evaluation, Donald Ross Green; Diverse Human Populations and Problems in Educational Program Evaluation via Achievement Testing, Edmund W. Gordon; Critical Issues in Achievement Testing of…