The purpose of this paper is to examine the assessment procedures initiated and used by most Canadian provinces during the past decade to describe public school reading achievement, to identify commonalities and differences among those procedures, and to comment on the significance of the identified trends. The stated purposes of evaluation…

This document contains the results of a standard setting conducted between August 2 and August 12, 1999, on the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) Mathematics, Reading, and Writing subtests at grades 3, 5, 8, and 10. At the standard setting, judges were asked to recommend only the cut point between "Below the Standard" and…

A report is given on two years' experience in using the Anchor Test Study (ATS) norms, developed by the Educational Testing Service under contract to the U.S. Office of Education as part of the Washington State Assessment program. In the first year, the desire to develop a state reading achievement profile through the application of the ATS norm…

The 1993-94 school year was a transition year for the Nevada Proficiency Examination program in that it marked the year in which proficiency examinations were first mandated for grades 4, 8, and 11. Because the change from assessment at grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 would leave one class untested between grades 6 and 11, a requirement was passed for…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) measures the educational achievement of nationally representative samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Local educational agencies tend to view the NAEP as a benchmark to which the educational achievement of their students can be compared. In particular, state departments of education…

This paper focuses on three topics. The first introduces the original Anchor Test Study conducted and reported by Educational Testing Service (ETS) from 1971 to 1974. This study, involving the testing of more than 300,000 children, produced raw score equivalency tables for eight commonly used reading tests and new individual and school-mean norms…

This paper describes New Jersey's High School Proficiency Test (HPST) in reading, one of three tests given to all 11th graders as a state graduation requirement. Each reading passage represents one of four test types (narrative, informational, persuasive/argumentative, and workplace). Each passage is followed by multiple-choice items and at least…

Under the California Assembly Bill 665 of 1972, the state assessment program must test all students in grades 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 in reading skills, and those in grades 6 and 12 to assess their skills in effectiveness of written expression, spelling, and mathematics. The state may develop its own tests, and a matrix sampling approach may be used…

A study used four statistical item bias analysis strategies to determine the French cross-cultural validity of the Maine Educational Assessment, a standardized test administered in six content areas to students in grades 4, 8, and 11. Analysis was performed on eighth grade pupil performance in test year 1988-89, in the areas of the 100 common…

Information is provided about the Delaware Educational Assessment Program and the performance of Delaware public school students as measured by a nationally-normed standardized achievement test. The Stanford Achievement Test, Eighth Edition was administered statewide, allowing comparisons with national performance and with the performance of…

This report represents one step in Arizona's statewide student assessment program. The data presented here identify student achievement in grade 8, the end of the elementary school experience, in the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic. The needs assessment program (ENAPA) is described in section one. The design for this evaluation is…

The South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) measures 16 basic skills objectives as mandated by legislation enacted in 1978. The BSAP Reading and Mathematics Tests were administered April 17 through 21, 1989. The tests for grades 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8 consisted of 6 multiple-choice questions for each of the 11 objectives in reading and…

Committees on Content Analysis and Correlation Studies were appointed by the Alabama State Superintendent of Education to provide information regarding the similarities and differences between the Californa Achievement Tests (CAT), Levels 13-C and 16-C, and the Alabama Basic Competency Tests (BCT), grade 3 and 6. The major purpose of these…

Florida requires all students in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11 to demonstrate mastery of minimum performance standards using the Florida Student State Assessment Test (SSAT) forms for the appropriate grade level. The tests are administered in October and cover reading, writing, and mathematics. Current practices used to prepare students for the SSAT…

In February 1989, statewide assessment tests in reading, mathematics, and writing were given to a sample of eighth graders throughout Oregon. The results and analyses of reading and mathematics assessments are presented. Important trends are described based on the analysis of data from 1985, 1987, and 1989. The 1989 information provides the first…