Since the passage of No Child Left Behind, large-scale assessments have come to play a central role in federal and state education accountability systems. Teachers and parents have expressed a number of concerns about their state testing programs, such as too much time devoted to testing and the high-stakes use of testing for teacher evaluation.…

Many studies point to potential unintended consequences of accountability systems such as when schools narrow their teaching to fixate on tested subjects. As a result, some states and districts in the USA have complemented the federal test-based accountability system with additional measures of educational practices to hold schools accountable on…

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)

The thesis of this paper is that achievement tests have changed their primary function from serving as indicators of educational accomplishments to becoming instruments of educational policy, and have thus come to be regarded as effective means of altering educational achievement and productivity. This assertion is explored by using examples of…

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)…

Critiques the Bush Administration's "America 2000" education initiative, in particular the call for national testing as a major tool for student assessment and education reform. Discusses the difficulty of designing accurate instruments, the drain on resources for other needs, and the ineffectiveness of testing as an agent for reform.…

Recognizing the lack of public confidence in the schools, public officials and educators should discuss the proper use and limitations of competency testing and the implementation of national tests. Competency tests should be used for diagnosis, for certifying that students possess basic skills, and for public awareness. They should not be the…

Three themes were addressed at the conference: (1) implications of factor analysis for achievement testing; (2) use of achievement tests in awarding course credits; and (3) extended conceptions of evaluation in higher education. The speeches were entitled: Factors of Verbal Achievement, by John B. Carroll; Schools of Thought in Judging Excellence…