The first day of hearings features the testimony of Admiral H. M. Rickover and Dr. Mary Berry, Assistant Secretary for Education, on the quality of education and what can be done about it. Subsequent testimony centers on the testing of students. Those offering statements are William W. Turnball, president of Educational Testing Service; Dr. Roy H.…

This paper makes the case that the high-stakes testing and accountability program currently in place in Massachusetts misuses scores from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) to select particular schools as exemplary. School awards and recognition programs in Massachusetts imply that score gains are equivalent to school…

When investigators document the consequences of high stakes assessments for students with disabilities, many negative consequences are cited. Both empirical and anecdotal evidence for positive consequences of large-scale high-stakes assessments for students with disabilities were examined for this study. Multiple methodologies were used to gather…

The increased use of test scores as a measure of school quality is discussed. Legitimate and illegitimate practices of test preparation are considered. Some commercial test preparation programs are reviewed, with some conclusions about their effectiveness and desirability. (SLD)

Superintendents from 155 school districts in Pennsylvania were surveyed regarding their participation in Pennsylvania's 1976 Educational Quality Assessment (EQA). Ten state goals for quality public school education were assessed in grades 5, 8, and 11, as part of the EQA. Questionnaire responses were returned by superintendents from 128 school…

A proposal is described to provide objective test results from the yearly School Certificate/GCE Examinations in Nigeria as computer-generated feedback information to individual schools and the Ministries of Education. Absolute, ipsative, and normative analyses would be presented for syllabus topics within each subject matter, and for each subject…

The validity of various procedures for rank ordering school districts throughout a state on the basis of statewide test results was studied. Data were drawn from the 1987 administration of the Kentucky Essential Skills Test (KEST), which is given each spring to all children enrolled in public school grades kindergarten through 12 in 178 school…

Based on telephone interviews with educational officials from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, an overview of the use and impact of standardized tests in the United States during the 1986-87 school year was developed. In addition to interviewing officials from all state departments of education, officials from 56 sample school districts…

Although it is true that today's education needs improvement, schools today are not all bad. The opinions of the following five experts, whose views are worth hearing are introduced: (1) Thomas Hopkins; (2) Ralph Tyler; (3) E. F. Lindquist; (4) Walter Cook; and (5) Harold Benjamin. (SLD)

Whether state average test scores on the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Trial State Assessment in mathematics should be used to compare and rank states according to the quality or proficiency of their educational programs is examined. Data from eighth graders from the Trial State Assessment are analyzed. Analysis shows…

This document is a compendium of reports prepared for presentation to each of North Carolina's 134 local school systems by the State Board of Education. Each report summarizes student performance in the system for 1989-90 in table and graph form and permits a comparison with student performance in preceding years. These reports satisfy a state…

Extracts from the papers and position statements presented at the National Conference on Achievement Testing and Basic Skills are provided in an attempt to capture both the diversity and the consensus among the participants. Six sessions are summarized: (1) achievement tests and basic skills: the issues and the setting--by Harold Howe II; (2)…

This report presents the results and sample items of a reading test and a mathematics test administered to Year 5 and Year 7 primary level students in 1989 in the Northern Territory of Australia. The Primary Assessment Program (PAP) monitors achievement in English and Mathematics in urban schools. All students in Years 5 and 7 are tested in…

This document is the second annual report to North Carolina educators, policy makers, and the public on the performance of each of the state's local public school systems primarily in terms of outcomes of education based on student achievement. Information in the Report Card makes it possible to compare: (1) current levels of performance with…

While some proponents of testing rest their hopes for stronger learning on the expectation that tests alone will motivate students to work harder, most posit that better learning will result primarily from better teaching--due to curriculum changes, greater attention to student needs, stronger teacher motivation, or focused investments in…