This paper is an examination of statewide district writing achievement gain data from the Nebraska Statewide Writing Assessment system and implications for statewide assessment writing models. The writing assessment program is used to gain compliance with the United States No Child Left Behind Law (NCLB), a federal effort to influence school…

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…

In 2000, the state of Nebraska passed legislation requiring the assessment of student performance on content standards, but its requirements were very different from those of any other state. Nebraska created what has come to be known as STARS (School-based Teacher-led Assessment and Reporting System). Under STARS, each of Nebraska's nearly 500…

Teachers in Kentucky are using portfolios to determine strengths and weaknesses of individual students. Consequently, instruction is centered totally around the student. The implementation of portfolios sends the message to students that their first efforts should not be their last. Revision is part of improvement, and students are expected to…

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…

In 1982, writing was added to the North Carolina Annual Testing Program. Results from the 1990-91 writing evaluations in grades 6 and 8 are reported. Tests were read by two readers, with an agreement rate of over 71%. In 1990-91, sixth-grade students were asked to describe a kitchen so that readers could picture it. Quality was determined on the…

The Connecticut Mastery Test testing program assesses essential skills in mathematics and language arts, including listening, reading, and writing, for grades 4, 6, and 8. For grade 8, student achievement is measured and reported in relation to specific learning objectives (criterion-referenced) that students can reasonably be expected to have…