An earlier study (D. Koretz, 1997) found that Kentucky had been unusually successful in testing most students with disabilities, but it also found numerous signs of poor measurement, including differential item functioning (DIF) in mathematics, apparently excessive use of accommodations, and implausibly high mean scores for some groups of students…

This paper discusses one of the arguments that has been advanced against the use of standardized college admissions tests: the notion that their use leads admissions officers to reject non-Asian minority students on the basis of small and insignificant differences in scores. In the aggregate, the disadvantage minority students face as a result of…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, a testing program which gathers data on knowledge and skills of American students to indicate educational achievement, may also be used to do comparisons among states. However, it cannot provide accountability oriented data; such use may erode its value as an indicator of educational achievement.…

This paper investigates the adequacy of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for taking into account dissimilarities in students' family, school, and community contexts when reporting test score differences among population groups (i.e., racial and ethnic minorities). This question was addressed by comparing the NAEP to other…

Roles suggested for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in proposed national testing are discussed. Recent proposals center around monitoring, evaluation and accountability, and serving as a benchmark for other tests. Monitoring has been the traditional function of the NAEP, and in this role, its influence has been substantial.…

No one can dispute that tests should measure important content, and for many (but not all) purposes, tests should be aligned with curricular goals. Thus in many cases, alignment is clearly better than the alternative, and nothing that follows here argues otherwise. Unfortunately, however, this does not imply that alignment is sufficient protection…

Student test scores are increasingly used to judge the competence of the educational enterprise. Exaggeration of scores is the result of directing attention away from the individual student achievement to the average scores of schools, districts, and states. Implications and recommendations are discussed. (BJV)

The documented decline in test scores of the 1960s and 1970s and the unclear picture since then result from educational and noneducational factors. Aspects of the misuse of test scores are (1) simplistic interpretation of performance trends; (2) unsupported evaluations of schooling; and (3) a reductionist view of education. (SLD)

Since 1988, Vermont has been developing a state assessment program, the centerpiece of which is the student portfolio and "best pieces" drawn from it. The state's use of portfolio results will be limited to reporting aggregates, but within schools, teachers and principals may use the portfolios as they choose. The assessment program,…