Legislation leading to the mandating of accountability testing in schools was chronicled between the publication of "A Nation at Risk" (1983) to the conclusion of No Child Left Behind (2016). Involvement in education by the federal government increased throughout the educational legislation during this time period. The Omnibus Trade and…

Should individuals use a test for purposes other than those for which it was originally intended? Should they give it to groups of people other than those for whom it was originally designed? This issue of "Educational Testing Service (ETS) R&D Connections" provides ideas for repurposing tests. (Contains 1 footnote.)

This paper critically reviews methods of pupil assessment at the beginning, during and at the end of the second cycle of secondary education. It notes a trend towards more global assessment based on a mixture of external and internal, periodic and terminal, subjective and objective tests. (Editor)

The Colorado Evaluation Project was funded to field test the Common Status Measures concurrently with Colorado's pilot program in assessment and evaluation. The primary purpose is to determine Colorado's educational needs, and the secondary purpose is to test procedures for assessment which can be replicated or adapted by local school districts or…

Describes Phase Four (contextualized literacy assessment) in the evolution of writing assessment, which would replace accountability approaches to assessment with an ecological model focusing on good instruction. Itemizes specific changes which could accompany movement into Phase Four by established assessment communities. (MM)

Examines the continuing controversy on test scores and student achievement in New Jersey. (RK)

Discussed are incorrect uses of matriculation examinations. Suggestions are made for possible changes in the secondary school systems including several types of senior secondary schools for those not seeking employment after four years of schooling. Recommendations are made for ways of matriculation examination scores. (DS)

The Skills Achievement Monitoring (SAM) program, developed by teachers and administrators in the public schools of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, is described. The program, used in writing and mathematics, is based on three assumptions: (1) that classroom teachers are the primary untapped resource in schools, (2) that tests of any kind must be used as…

Examines the relationship between a journey and a destination in terms of the educational experience, where learning is the journey but test scores have become the destination. Focuses on the loss of curriculum areas that are untested in favor of the destination of math and reading scores. Asserts that middle school students deserve both measured…