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…

From the 1980s to the present, educational accountability in the United States has grown dramatically. Such accountability in U.S. school districts, although driven primarily by external demands, has internal manifestations as well. The chapter traces the historical development of internal evaluation in American school districts, then highlights…

LDA (Learning Disabilities Association) of Minnesota receives many calls and emails regarding testing accommodations for large-scale testing programs. Callers include the test-takers themselves, parents, teachers, counselors, advocates, and an occasional attorney. The standardized tests they ask about include the GED, SAT and ACT (for college…

Focuses on the process of evaluation capacity building (ECB) in a school district from the perspective of an internal evaluator hired to develop the evaluation function of the district. Shows how the work was originally conceived and why it changed. Emphasizes the core function of the district's Assessment Department, managing the standardized…

This document traces the development of the testing and reporting system used in the Elkhart Community Schools (ECS), Indiana, from 1981 through 1985. Performance objectives were established when the program was initiated. Analyses of standardized test results were provided for teachers, principals, and central administrative staff. All school…

The American College Testing Program (ACT) routinely evaluates the fit of its tests to the curriculum of high schools nationwide to ensure that what is being assessed reflects what is being taught as necessary for college success. This report describes the steps ACT has taken to ensure that the content foundations of the ACT Assessment Mathematics…

Since 1983 the Migrant Education Program Evaluation (MEPE) has collected data about migrant children in summer programs throughout the state of Illinois. Testing is done during the summer months with migrant students in grades 3, 5, and 7. Preliminary screening identifies students who are limited-English speakers, and they are excluded from…

Schools that are concerned with evaluating their programs need more than just the average scaled assessment scores from standardized tests. To help schools, the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program produces school and district reports that contain the stories behind the averages. These reports describe the kind of students who took the…

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…

Basically, test directors have four systemwide and building level responsibilities: (1) planning, administration and evaluation of standardized testing programs; (2) application of measurement and evaluation to school problems; (3) classroom testing and evaluation; and (4) external testing programs. In a series of brief memos, measurement and…

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Office of Program Evaluation and Research is responsible for providing information for program development and improvement; providing test information to special programs coordinators; and acting as a clearinghouse for all information concerning tests, evaluation methodology, and educational…

The state of Illinois recently has required state goals for learning to be identified and assessed in the following areas of learning: language arts, mathematics, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, fine arts, and physical development and health. The Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) is designed to assess the progress made…

The purposes for which test data should be used were described as: test should provide a learning experience for the child taking the test, the teacher giving the test, and the parents of the child. It should also provide information useful to school administrators, school boards, and state and national educational agencies. The state-mandated…

In their effort to provide quality programing for their diverse student body, the Des Moines Public Schools continually evaluate their teaching and student outcomes. This report presents results about student performance on the following tests: (1) Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS); (2) Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED); (3) American…

State program practices in norm-referenced testing (NRT) are described as found in the 1990-91 school year and prior years to provide information on years of administration of the same test and the age of the norms. All 50 State Departments of Education were surveyed in 2 stages. States without NRT were asked to described their testing policies;…