Scores on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests are used to select exemplary schools in Massachusetts, and the schools thus identified can receive awards from three different programs. This study examined the evidence about the use of MCAS scores to assess school quality. These three programs use MCAS to identify exemplary…

This field memo is the third in a series of updates from the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education to all teachers and administrators of public and nonpublic schools on standards and assessments in New York. This document explains how the New York State Education Department determines if test…

The New York State School Report Card is an important part of the effort to raise learning standards for all students. It is designed to provide information to the public on student performance and other measures of school and district performance. The 2000 report card has been changed to focus on measures of student progress on the new standards.…

Four articles on computer-assisted testing in schools at local and state levels are reviewed. Trends in the application of and limitations/advantages of microcomputerized testing packages are described. (SLD)

Uses focus group data (groups of 7, 12, 8, and 5) to examine how cross-subject matter groups of elementary and secondary New York state teachers respond to state-level testing as a way to change their classroom practices. The analyses highlight the nature of the tests, professional development for teachers, and the rationales for and consequences…

This is the fourth edition of the State Student Assessment Database. This document tabulates information about each state's assessment programs based on a survey mailed to state directors of assessment in October 1995 and completed by all 50 states by February 1996. The survey was divided into the following categories: (1) general concerns; (2)…

A recently developed model of validation (T. J. Crooks, M. T. Kane, and A. S. Cohen, 1996) is briefly outlined. It conceptualizes assessment as divided into a chain of eight linked stages: (1) administration; (2) scoring; (3) aggregation; (4) generalization; (5) extrapolation; (6) evaluation; (7) decision; and (8) impact. The model is then used to…

Matches between questions in the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System for 1995-96 (KIRIS96), the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, Fourth Edition (CTBS4), and the California Achievement Tests, Fifth Edition (CAT5) and the Kentucky Academic Expectations as they are defined in the Kentucky curriculum framework were studied. Each…

This pamphlet presents answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP). They include questions about the history of MEAP, its costs, subject coverage, test validity, the type of tests, administration of the tests, and use of MEAP results. (BW)

Each year the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) tests all 4th, 7th, and 10th grade students in reading and mathematics and one or more subject areas. Because MEAP has lost funding for test development, experienced assessment staff and a volunteer team of local educators and college and university specialists develop, administer, and…

Staff of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) have developed procedures for helping school district and building staffs use and report assessment results. There are procedures for using results at the district level, school building level and classroom level included in the appendix. This model is applicable to other state programs…

This guide is designed to give the student helpful information about Arizona's Instrument To Measure the Standards (AIMS) for high school. The guide provides examples of the type of questions students see on AIMS and explains how items are scored. It does not teach what the student needs to know to do well on AIMS, but it will help the student…

Texas students have made extraordinarily large gains on statewide achievement tests, the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), gains so dramatic that they have been dubbed the "Texas miracle." There is general agreement that these gains are attributable to the high stakes accountability system in Texas, but there is some question…

In the year 2000, the Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Examination (HSGQE) was given for the first time. The HSGQE is currently scheduled to be a graduation requirement for all students graduating as of January 2002, but early results from the use of the HSGQE in the Anchorage school district raise serious questions about the use of the…

To ensure that educational tests do the least harm and bring the greatest good to the education of elementary and secondary school students, it is important that parents, teachers, educational administrators, and policy makers be actively involved in test construction and use. The purpose of this Statement is to provide a checklist of some…