Information was gathered about current state interest, activity, and concerns related to performance assessment for students. The Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing of the University of California (Los Angeles) conducted telephone interviews with directors of testing in each of the 50 states in the spring of 1990.…

This bulletin contains general information about the Grade 12 Diploma Examinations Program in Alberta, Canada. All twelfth graders must write at least one diploma examination to receive a high school diploma. The examination certifies academic achievement in English 30 and 33, Social Studies 30, Mathematics 30, Biology 30, Chemistry 30, Physics…

From 1946 to 1976, the field of higher education operated in a growth-based mode, encouraged by government decisions and financed by government funds. During the massive recession and exploding federal deficits of the early seventies, however, legislators began examining the real value of higher education, and asking whether higher education was…

This is the fourth in a series of six monographs developed to help local educators use and report Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test results. Sharing MEAP test reports with parents gives them information on their child's basic skills and generates parent involvement and support for the school. This sharing should be addressed on…

The status of remedial programs in New Jersey's public colleges is analyzed in this report for fall 1981. Following introductory material on New Jersey's basic skills assessment program, the character of the state's remedial programs is examined, focusing on the number of students tested, identification of students needing remediation, placement…

In winter 1982-83, a survey of California's community colleges was conducted to determine which assessment activities were considered most effective and to identify areas needing improvement. Responses were received from 99 of the 106 colleges in the system. Study findings included the following: (1) assessment procedures, counseling procedures,…

This description of the student outcomes assessment programs at community and junior colleges in Missouri provides an overview of the programs, a summary of the position of the Missouri Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) on assessment, and brief reports on the assessment programs of MACJC members. After introductory comments…

This collection of articles is designed to enhance leadership for the promotion of effective evaluation and learning. The articles include an Introduction, by Fred Snyder; Exerting Leadership Toward Effective Evaluation of Pupil Performance, by T. L. Drake; The Elementary Principal as an Instructional Leader, by John Ourth; The Secondary Principal…

The result of both discussions and individual papers by members of the Intersegmental Committee on Writing Skills of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, this position paper proposes a possible, intersegmental solution to the problem of the inadequacy of student writing skills. After presenting background information on the problem,…

BENCHMARKS is intended as an aid to the proper use of Georgia Statewide Testing Program scores. It provides information about the program and the tests; reading and understanding the various reports; understanding what the scores mean; and applying test results for the improvement of learning opportunities for Georgia children and youth. It is…

This bulletin describes a trial examination for the geography curriculum as specified by the Certificate of Secondary Education. The total examination is composed of a 2 hour objective examination to test factual knowledge learned in the geography courses. A second part of the total examination consisted of: 1) a paper by the student on some…

The report reviews recent arguments for directing attention to suitability for a linguistic course of study. A first step in that direction, a Verbal Reasoning Test composed and tried out in the 1975 student selection for English, is described, and the results of this experiment, involving 1046 candidates, are given. The Verbal Reasoning Test is…

The purposes of this paper are to analyze some problems in using student test scores to evaluate teachers and to propose an achievement-based model for teacher evaluation that is effective, affordable, fair, legally defensible, and politically acceptable. The system is designed for detecting and documenting poor teacher performance. (Auth/JAZ)

These discussions of performance-based student assessment provide a record of a decade-long exploration of unsettled issues in assessment. The first section provides the elements of a basic rationale for performance-based assessment, while the second section contains accounts of efforts to develop new performance-based systems in one city and four…

Analysis of several national surveys found that states collect a tremendous amount of data on educational outcomes, but little on the status of students with disabilities. Trends toward increasing local control concerning decisions of testing participation and accommodation strategies were found. The need for carefully planned inclusion of…