The articles in this annotated bibliography represent holdings of the Test Center in the area of assessment alternatives in mathematics. Presence on the list does not imply endorsement of the practices by the Test Center; rather, articles are made available to stimulate thinking and provide ideas. Some entries present informal assessments intended…

This report describes activities and accomplishments of the Dual Sensory Impairments Program in Florida, a 3-year federally supported program, housed at Florida State University, to provide technical assistance and other services to students, ages 0 to 21, with deaf-blindness. A change in priorities concerning infants (ages 0 to 2) is noted as the…

This report describes activities and accomplishments of the Idaho Project for Children and Youth with Deaf-Blindness, a 3-year federally supported project which provided training, technical assistance, and resources to families, educators, and other service providers working with infants, toddlers, children, and youth with deaf-blindness. An…

This plan presents the procedures to be followed in the administration of the Florida College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) for the 1994-95 academic year. The document specifies the responsibilities of the Department of Education, the technical support contractor, and individual institutions. The plan does not include procedures needed in…

Considerable evidence suggests that policy-makers, educators, the media, and the public do not understand national and state test results. The problems appear to be two-fold: the scales on which scores are reported seem confusing, and the report forms themselves are often too complex for the intended audiences. This paper addresses two topics. The…

This document provides information on average student performance at the state level on end-of-grade (grades 3 through 8 in reading and mathematics and grades 4 through 8 in social studies) multiple-choice tests and all end-of-course (high school courses) tests administered in 1994-95 as part of the North Carolina Testing Program. State-level…

A survey was conducted of Colorado secondary career and technical programs in 1995 to gauge how the state has responded to mandates of the Carl Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act of 1990. Results were reported for the first three of nine standards developed by a statewide committee in 1992. The three standards require secondary programs…

This report presents findings of an analysis that identified gaps between the Ohio education system and national education goals. Data were collected during 1992 and 1993 by the Ohio Department of Education, which elicited feedback from policymakers at a 1992 seminar, conducted interviews with local teams representing school districts and…

In 1991 the collaborative efforts of the Council of Chief State School Officers and the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory resulted in the current form of the State Student Assessment Program (SSAP) database. This report marks the third year of that partnership, which builds on earlier data collection efforts to present information…

Sixteen regional forums were held in Minnesota in the fall of 1995 to determine what form the Education and Employment Transition System, or School-to-Work System, mandated by state legislation, would take and which elements it should contain. Forum participants represented business, labor, education, parents, teachers, counselors, and other…

Barriers to progress in educational reform exist inside and outside the education system. Some arise where new practices encounter traditional expectations and boundaries, but others go much deeper than education, such as poverty, racism, local political conflicts, and human resistance to change. The following five categories of barriers are…

One component of the Maryland School Performance Program (MSPAP) is the state's performance-based assessments, criterion-referenced tests that require students to apply what they know and can do to solve problems and display other higher-order thinking skills. This document helps parents, teachers, students, and other citizens understand the tasks…

One component of the Maryland School Performance Assessment; Program (MSPAP) is the state's performance-based assessments, criterion-referenced tests that require students to apply what they know and can do to solve problems and display other higher-order thinking skills. This document helps parents, teachers, students, and other citizens…

This score interpretation guide is designed to help administrators and classroom teachers understand the scores and scales of the 1994 and Beyond Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP). MSPAP scale scores indicate a school's level of performance in the content areas of reading, writing, language usage, mathematics, science, and…

Performance based assessment refers to tasks that require students to construct responses or take actions to demonstrate specific knowledge or skills. Performance assessment tasks appear in a variety of formats, but they focus on higher order skills and are nonroutine, and sometimes loosely structured, in nature. A number of concerns have been…