In addition to some general and basic principles regarding the importance of an acceptable accountability system, a number of specific criteria for evaluating state accountability programs is provided. The stated purposes of such a system and the specific uses of the resulting data should be clear and concise. Local control must be retained and…

This book has been written for state board of education members and other citizens interested in public education. It is, in a sense, a primer in matters relating to learning, testing, assessment, and evaluation. Presented are some philosophical and political considerations in statewide educational evaluation. Learning is defined and the types and…

The Wisconsin Pupil Assessment Program is a testing service which provides the State of Wisconsin with: (1) a measure of student performance in selected academic areas by developing objective-referenced tests in reading, mathematics, economic understanding, and writing; (2) a comparison of Wisconsin public school students to the rest of the nation…

This publication outlines tests that are included in the North Carolina Testing Program. The end-of-grade tests are curriculum based multiple-choice reading comprehension and mathematics tests that measure curricular competencies described in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. These tests are administered to all eligible students within…

The Nebraska Assessment Battery of Essential Learning Skills (N-ABELS) is a goal-oriented instrument with an evaluation component providing a basis for determining acquisition of twelve skills defined as learning goals. Each goal is stated in terms of an acceptable performance standard which clearly describes what the student must do. The skills…

This handbook presents an overview of the New York State Testing Program as well as specific information on the Regents Examinations, Regents Scholarship and College Qualification Test, the Optional High School Achievement Examinations, Basic Competency Tests, New York State Standardized Tests, the Pupil Evaluation Program, Continuing Education…

This document is designed to help the reader understand the district profiles of the California statewide testing program. These data assist the reader to compare a districts' performance with that of previous years and of other districts, especially those with similar characteristics. A brief description of the development and content of the…

Each year all Georgia children and youth in the fourth, eighth and eleventh grades are tested; the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills is used in the fourth and eighth grades, the Tests of Academic Progress in the eleventh grade. Test scores which provide a wealth of information, may be used as a tool for the teacher, principal, curriculum specialist or…

In the 1973-74 Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP), new objective-referenced tests measuring some of the state-level minimal mathematics and reading performance objectives were introduced. These tests and the reports of results provided classroom teachers with extensive information about the performance objectives. Tests similar to…

BENCHMARKS is intended as an aid to the proper use of Georgia Statewide Testing Program scores. It provides information about the program and the tests; reading and understanding the various reports; understanding what the scores mean; and applying test results for the improvement of learning opportunities for Georgia children and youth. It is…

The Council on School Performance Standards, appointed in February of 1989 by the Governor of Kentucky, was charged with finding out what students in Kentucky should know and be able to do, and with determining the best ways to assess student learning. The Council met with six groups: community leaders; employers; parents; school administrators;…

The Continuous Uniform Evaluation System (CUES) provides the means for Arizona school districts to demonstrate accountability for achieving the goal of assisting all public school students in Arizona to develop the basic skills of reading, writing, and computation. These suggested guidelines for the development and implementation of a continuous…

The New Jersey State Department of Education adopted the High School Proficiency Test (HSPT) as a high school graduation requirement beginning with the ninth grade class of 1985-86. This document is a tool to support educators in making the necessary curriculum modifications to improve basic skill mastery and student achievement on the HSPT. It…

The Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) was designed to provide information on the extent to which Michigan students have attained minimal performance objectives. This manual was written to help local Michigan school district staff read, interpret, and use MEAP data. The 1977-78 MEAP provided objective-referenced achievement measures in…

This report is written for local educators who are responsible for the administration of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) tests and for other people who are generally interested in the purposes and methodology of MEAP. The 1975-76 assessment will report 19 variables at the student, classroom, school or district levels, in the…