The establishment of international testing regimes such as the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has provided one way for individual countries to monitor the effectiveness of their educational…

In addition to data on overall performance since 1973, this article presents NAEP data on items that were recently released to the public. They are presented as examples of current student achievement in relation to achievement in the 1980s. Performance was stable or improving on most of the released items, with greatest improvement on items…

This study describes enrollment and achievement trends of limited English proficient (LEP) students in New Jersey public schools between 2002/03 and 2008/09. It documents achievement gaps between LEP and general education students in language arts literacy and math. The study's main findings include: (1) From 2002/03 to 2008/09, LEP student…

The 2006-2007 school year was the eighth annual reporting period since disaggregating the performance of students with disabilities on state and district-wide assessments was required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It is the fifth reporting period since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and the…

Many educational testing programs report examinee performance at more than two levels of proficiency. Whether these assessments have the capacity to support these multiple inferences, though, is a topic that has not been widely discussed. This study proposes a method for evaluating the minimum number of measurement opportunities for reporting…

The document presents the results of state mandated assessment in the primary grades in the Wake County Public Schools, North Carolina. The North Carolina State Board of Education has mandated that school districts implement assessments at kindergarten, first, and second grades using state-developed materials, adaptations of those materials, or…

The standards presented in this book, for reading, writing, and mathematics, are those that will be initially assessed by Arizona's Instrument To Measure Standards (AIMS). These standards and those for other content areas will be a road map for education in Arizona. A statewide test is being developed for each of these areas to measure student…

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 Toronto Board of Education Benchmarks are libraries of reference materials that demonstrate student achievement at various levels. Each library contains video benchmarks, print benchmarks, a staff handbook, and summary and introductory documents. This book is about the development and the history of the benchmark program. It has taken over 3…

Statewide assessment programs in mathematics that have led the way in the development and implementation of new alternative forms of assessment are described and compared. Assessments reviewed are: (1) the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program (MEAP); (2) the Maine Educational Assessment (MEA); (3) Vermont's Mathematics Portfolio Assessment…

The New Jersey Educational Assessment Program was initiated in l972-73 school year to assess high school students' performance in the basic skill areas of reading and mathematics. The High School Proficiency Test (HSPT) will become part of the graduation requirement for the ninth grade class of 1985-86. This instrument is a more comprehensive…

The DATAWave is a bi-weekly publication of the Assessment Resource Office (ARO) at Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU). Its purpose is to inform the campus community and broader constituencies on assessment issues and practices at ENMU. The seven issues of winter and spring 1996 cover the following topics: (1) a preview of ARO activities,…

To refocus its professional development plan, Chaska Middle School East (Minnesota) looked at where student achievement was lagging. Using the Killion back-mapping model, a student-focused, data-driven, multi-step process by which teachers gather and study student data to determine where professional growth, development, or training is most…

Information was sought about three main issues related to voluntary national tests for fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade mathematics: (1) the relationship between the National Assessment Governing Board and the U.S. Department of Education; (2) costs of developing the national voluntary tests and procedures for hiring contractors; and (3)…

The Massachusetts Basic Skills Testing Program, mandated by Chapter 188 of the Acts of 1985, seeks to identify students who have not mastered basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. Because the Massachusetts Department of Education does not mandate any post-test action, it has not been possible to prescribe any method of providing help…