A companion piece to "High Stakes for High Achievers: State Accountability in the Age of ESSA," this report appraises states' current (or planned) accountability systems as they affect high-achieving students in high school. They were examined and rated based on whether they incorporate under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) the…

The focus article "Road Maps for Learning: A Guide to the Navigation of Learning Progressions" by Black, Wilson, and Yao (this issue) is a veritable tour-de-force, covering a great deal of education ground while spanning the heights from models of the interplay among curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment to interpretations of student…

Since 2002, the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an independent nonprofit organization, has been studying state high school exit examinations--tests students must pass to receive a high school diploma. This is CEP's ninth annual report on exit exams. The information in this report comes from several sources: CEP's survey of states that have…

This paper provides information about South Carolina's High School Assessment Program. The purpose of the test is to: (1) Demonstrate students' achievement based on selected South Carolina academic standards; (2) Provide data to state policymakers on student attainment of state education goals to inform educational policy decisions; and (3) Meet a…

The purpose of this document is to establish the minimum standards for approval of programs which meet the requirements of the Standards of Accreditation adopted by the State Board of Education February 22, 1984, and have been effective since June 1, 1987. Included are guidelines, which enable school districts to: (1) Establish equitable criteria…

The purpose of this document is to establish the statewide policy for the participation of students in the Utah Performance Assessment System for Students (U-PASS). The central elements of this policy are: (1) Rules for inclusion in the statewide assessment program (U-PASS); (2) Limited allowances for exempting or excusing students from…

Current educational policies require the participation of students with disabilities in state assessments. Their participation has raised a number of issues, among them the need for accommodations. In this article we consider the role that assistive technology (AT) can play to alleviate current accommodations demands, and highlight research and…

Homeschooling is quickly becoming a significant educational phenomenon. According to the Indiana Department of Education, the number of Indiana homeschooled children has increased by 400 percent over the past eight years, with a current enrollment total of 22,403. Furthermore, this number likely understates the true number of Indiana homeschooled…

Ohio's higher education policymakers are concerned with issues related to student preparation for college and degree completion. Discussions about student preparation focus on the costs of remedial courses, with the implication being that higher education costs will fall if students require fewer remedial courses. This study was designed to answer…

States have taken a variety of approaches in the development of their alternate assessments and the policies and procedures that support them. This has resulted not only in alternate assessments that differ from state to state in their characteristics, but also in variations in the characteristics and percentages of students who are targeted for…

Test-based accountability systems are now a central feature of U.S. education policy. Accountability systems are implemented as a way of improving student outcomes through new, highly visible incentives. This paper characterizes the incentives of different state accountability systems and reviews the existing evidence about outcomes. The question…

Many states give individual schools the authority to make decisions in response to local conditions while still meeting state and district goals. Providing flexibility to local decision-makers is also a potential means for improving student achievement. This report provides a snapshot of several states' recent experiences with flexibility and…

Growing regulation of teacher preparation programs has raised concerns about standardization in the field of teacher education. With greater uniformity, is there a loss of innovation and program identity? To gather information on this question, we examined teacher preparation programs in Elementary Education, Secondary English, Secondary…

This annual report details activities by the New York State Commission on Quality of Care for the Mentally Disabled, which oversees the public and private service system for individuals with mental disorders. The report notes that during 1994-1995, the Commission's cost-effectiveness studies identified over $15 million in potential savings, and…