The use of performance assessments in accountability programs is discussed. Performance assessments have the potential to measure important objectives not easily measured by multiple-choice tests. Nevertheless, they are not suitable for every purpose, and their use should not be oversold. Many psychometric issues remain to be resolved. (SLD)

Places performance assessment in the context of high-stakes uses, describes underlying technologies, and outlines the history of performance testing from 210 B.C.E. to the present. Historical issues of fairness, efficiency, cost, and infrastructure influence contemporary efforts to use performance assessments in large-scale, high-stakes testing…

This document argues that current efforts to establish a national test to measure progress toward the nation's educational goals will inhibit, rather than advance, educational reform. Proponents of a national test have asked for single, primarily multiple-choice tests, or for performance assessments to measure progress toward the nation's…

New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) established a Task Force on Student Assessment in the spring of 1990, which was designed to: review available information on testing principles and practices; make recommendations for reform of testing; and communicate its findings to NYSUT members. Ten recommendations were made, centering on the necessity…

A preliminary investigation has been made of some claims regarding alternative assessment. Using the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS)--Middle Grades Mathematics Performance Assessment as a platform, the study examined how alternative assessment operates in actual practice. Early findings are presented in the following areas: (1)…

The role and influence of mandated testing in educational reform are reviewed. Mandated testing refers to large-scale (districtwide or statewide) multiple-choice testing programs used for policy purposes of evaluation and accountability, which includes nationally normed standardized achievement tests and tests custom-developed to reflect state and…

Student learning is the bottom line for nearly all efforts to establish a national test system. Major efforts in this area are summarized in this paper. The various efforts seem to move ahead independently, but some common ideas include: (1) creating a national assessment system rather than a single test; (2) developing more than multiple-choice…

This paper explores some of the obstacles to implementation of tests required for graduation by describing state programs in existence as of October 1994 in which students were required to pass a test in order to receive a high school diploma. A survey of state testing directors used to construct the State Student Assessment Program Database was…

The Association of State Assessment Programs, an informal association of state assessment directors, began collecting information about large-scale assessment programs in 1977. This report is a continuation of that effort that is currently conducted by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory and the Council of Chief State School…

In the 1992 mathematics assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), approximately one-third of the questions and about half of the student response time were devoted to questions asking students to construct their own responses. Regular constructed response items required a short answer with a problem solution, while…

This report provides background on statewide student testing and testing alternatives in Ohio. The status of achievement testing in other states is also discussed. Educational testing historically has included the two strands of intelligence testing and achievement testing. This report focuses on achievement testing. The two basic forms are…

Current proposals for national testing are either for national multiple-choice tests in which all students would take the same test or for a system of performance-based examinations calibrated to national standards. The Bush administration's proposals, as enunciated in "America 2000," embrace both types, beginning with administration of…

The Milepost Testing Program of the Los Angeles Unified School District (California) is described. The district's Ten Schools Program was designed as an intervention to raise student achievement in 10 historically low-achieving inner-city schools, with a minimum 60-percent African American population. The Milepost Testing Program was conceived of…

Examining testing practices in other countries can help formulate ideas and issues in establishing a national assessment system in the United States. Based on recent reports by the Office of Technology and Assessment and the National Endowment for the Humanities, this digest provides an overview of the national examinations in several European…

The Ohio Sixth-grade Proficiency Tests are designed to measure a sixth-grade level of literacy and basic competence. Beginning in March 1996, Ohio sixth graders will take proficiency tests in writing, reading, mathematics, citizenship, and science. Both teachers and administrators have been involved in the test development process, establishing…