Drawing on the collective experience of the researchers, their work with teachers and principals, and their previous research in urban schools where students are predominantly Mexican American, this essay outlines the ways in which the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) harms the educational quality and opportunity of minority,…

This paper responds to an article that criticizes S. A. Cohen's position on the application of instructional alignment to teaching test wiseness. The value and ethics of using certain types of norm-referenced tests are criticized, based on data for the Missouri Mastery Achievement Test. (TJH)

This booklet answers frequently asked questions about the Exit Examination that students in South Carolina must pass before they receive a high school diploma. As provided for by the Education Improvement Act of 1984, the State Board of Education adopted the South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) objectives in 1985 as the basis for…

Arizona teachers and administrators (n=2,444) were surveyed to determine (1) use of standardized test scores; (2) teachers' perceptions of others' use of scores; (3) how schools prepare students to take tests; (4) conditions under which tests are given; and (5) views of current testing program effects. (SLD)

Since the mid-1970s, at least 20 states have instituted standardized tests that must be passed before students can receive a high school diploma. This paper draws on data collected in four states to explore some of the lasting effects of competency test legislation. Of particular interest is student awareness of these tests. A survey of 733…