This paper aims to tell how the Russian national examination in mathematics (the Uniform State Examination or USE) has been conducted most recently. The author must say at once that the history of the system of secondary school graduation examinations or even the history of the USE will be covered only to the small degree that is necessary for…

There has been little data collected on how much testing actually goes on in America's schools and how the results are used. So in the Spring of 2014, the Council staff developed and launched a survey of assessment practices. This report presents the findings from that survey and subsequent Council analysis and review of the data. It also offers…

This document comments on the future of educational testing in the United States and the plans of the Bush administration for increased use of testing for educational accountability. The "achievement gap" does not appear to be closing. One of the keys to closing the gap is having the data to understand it so that teachers can use test…

The primary sample for Year 11 of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was selected in March 1979, and was preceded by an 18-month planning effort. During the planning period, research concentrated in five specific areas: sampling frame construction, stratification criteria, efficiency study review, techniques and computer…

Several aspects of national competency tests are discussed: two conceptualizations; arguments pro and con; the federal perspective; a distillation of support and opposition to arguments judged unique to national competency tests; and a hypothetical procedure for implementation. (MH)

Political and legislative pressures have posed a number of measurement issues and challenges to the development of sound, valid voluntary national tests (VNTs). This paper focuses on what appear to be the most difficult technical issues related to the VNT proposed by President Clinton in 1997. Technical issues refer to psychometric issues, as…

One critical area of concern for governments of small states is the provision and administration of examinations at the end of the secondary school cycle. The problems, faced by all states, of assuring that assessment and certification are carried out fairly, are compounded for small states by the additional difficulties associated with their…

Differences between national testing as discussed in the most recent report of the National Council on Education, Standards, and Testing, and by the Office of Technology Assessment are reviewed. National testing is not new, but the political use of nationally standardized achievement tests is a recent and dangerous trend. (SLD)

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has the potential to become a national data system and to meet the rapidly expanding needs for educational information. Historically, NAEP has had the objectives of providing relevant information for federal, state, and local policymakers; establishing a research database; and monitoring…

In the initial article by Edward Roeber, performance assessment is defined as an exercise in which the student demonstrates specific skills and competencies rather than selecting one of several predetermined answers to an exercise. Such as assessment contains four components: (1) a reason for the assessment; (2) a particular peformance to be…

In recent years, education systems in more than 50 countries have shown an interest in obtaining information on what their students have learned as a result of their educational experiences. It seems likely that the number of countries interested in this sort of information will increase in the future. This book is intended to provide an…

In recent months the idea of a single national test seems to have lost some of its momentum, while use of national standards to which voluntary regional or state tests would be indexed seems to have gained support. Nationally, there does not seem to be any organized attempt to fuse the national education goals into the state process beyond the…

The administrator in charge of assessment for the San Diego (California) schools discusses the district's decision about whether or not to endorse a national test. The San Diego schools serve 135,000 urban students in 165 schools, 31% of whom are Latino, 22% Asian Indochinese, 18% African American, and 29% White. Before San Diego would want to…

National curriculum assessment in England and Wales is explored, focusing on its troubled implementation. The work of the Task Group on Assessment and Testing and teacher resistance to the mandated testing are discussed. Experiences in England and Wales provide insight into what can be expected in a national assessment system. (SLD)

Issues associated with minimum competency testing are discussed: the national, state, and local context for MCT program development; MCT's potential impact; the use and development of MCT programs; and reactions to the testing programs. Presently, the federal role is described as limited to providing information, research support, and technical…