This 2000 Summary marks the eighth edition of the Summary of State Student Assessment Programs. Using data gathered in the annual survey, this report summarizes what is occurring in statewide assessment programs and provides information on trends in state assessment activities. Completed surveys for the 2000 year were received by the Council of…

This paper examines the validity of measures of teacher effectiveness from the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS). It considers the following claims regarding teacher effects: (1) they capture teachers' unique contributions to student learning adequately; (2) they reflect adequate standards of excellence for comparing teachers; (3)…

Nearly every state is engaged in what is generally being called standards-based reform, the development of statewide academic goals and guidelines in core subjects, with new state tests that will measure students progress toward these goals. The first chapter of this report describes how the Study Group on Statewide Assessment of the National…

The recently enacted No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The new law substantially increases the testing requirements for states and sets demanding accountability standards for schools, districts, and states, including the setting of measurable adequate yearly progress objectives for all…

This guide in English and Spanish is designed to answer questions parents may have about the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), including how it will help improve their children's education, how it is scored, and how to use the information it provides. In Washington, clear educational goals for subject content, thinking skills, and…

This paper discusses the use of two theories of item analysis and test construction, their strengths and weaknesses, and applications to the design of the Hawaii State Test of Essential Competencies (HSTEC). Traditional analyses of the data collected from the HSTEC field test were viewed from the perspectives of item difficulty levels and item…

As part of the test development process, this document provides the released mathematics items and student responses to some questions from the Michigan High School Proficiency Test (HSPT) in mathematics. This packet is designed for teachers and students who are interested in understanding how the open-ended items from the HSPT in Mathematics are…

This document provides detailed information on how to interpret and use the results provided by the Kentucky Core Content Test (KCCT), Writing Portfolio, Norm-referenced Test, and other components of the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) administered during the 2001-2002 school year. As required by statute, these reports are…

This study guide is designed to help teachers understand the role assessment plays in helping students learn and to help teachers improve their own assessment capacities. The guide contains assigned readings, discussion questions, activities, checks for understanding, and reflections for learners using the "Classroom Assessment: Linking…

The Wisconsin legislature has required the Department of Public Instruction to adopt or approve standardized tests for statewide use to measure student attainment of knowledge and concepts in grades 4, 8, and 10. Although school districts generally gave high ratings to the contents of TerraNova (McGraw Hill), the testing instrument most recently…

The practices, policies, and procedures used in all 50 states for evaluating school and school district effectiveness were examined, with a focus on the study of methodological and measurement issues in the collection, analysis, and reporting of information for accountability purposes. Data were collected through computerized literature and Web…

Believes that the New Jersey Commission of Education's Policy of state-wide testing creates an atmosphere of repression against teachers'' and curbs imagination and innovation'' in children. (DS)

The purposes of this paper are to (1) consider the state testing program from the county point of view, (2) relate the testing program to other state required programs, and (3) make some suggestions for the future. (Author)

Studied 18 states with high-stakes testing to see if their programs were affecting student learning, analyzing results from additional tests covering some of the same domain as each state's own test. Findings suggest that in all but one case, student learning is indeterminate, remains at the same level, or actually decreases with the…

Examined the relationship between school system financial and demographic data and student achievement in the science section of the 1998 Tennessee statewide Terra Nova tests. Results indicate that while many schools had science scale score achievement higher than expected based on system demographics, others should examine a variety of…