Education reformers have been concerned that U.S. schools are not helping to develop in their students critical thinking or reasonable, reflective thinking about what to do or believe. Because of the significant role standardized tests play in measuring student progress, and the way in which they may influence the content and dissemination of what…

The use of standardized tests within the Chicago (Illinois) Public School System and elsewhere is discussed in the context of school reform efforts. Standardized tests have been criticized as: being too general to assess all valued outcomes; being too general to fit with local curricula; and directing instruction only to test objectives. Recent…

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…

This user handbook includes four main sections: (1) components of the American College Testing (ACT) Program Assessment; (2) ACT Assessment Reports and Data Services; (3) using ACT student data; and (4) ACT assessment participation. The components described are the four tests of educational development, the High School Course/Grade Information…

Prepared by four state-appointed task forces, this report recommends policies and procedures for basic skills education in the State of Washington to assist local and statewide planning. Following introductory material on the mandate and members of the task forces, Section I considers the organization and management of developmental programs,…

The value-added approach to the assessment of student outcomes examines actual or inferred changes in students' performance over time. It also attempts to separate the net effects of instruction from previous ability or simple maturation. Others may have different definitions of this concept, and this vagueness causes problems. Suggested ways to…

Both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced interpretations of student, school, district, and state testing data can be improved by customizing the traditional norm-referenced test. Improvements that can be made include: (1) increasing the relevance of the test to the curriculum and (2) having greater confidence in the national comparative…

The differential performance of black and white college freshmen on a direct measure of writing skills, the essay portion of the American College Testing Program's Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP), was studied. The data consisted of responses of a sample of 998 black and 3,727 white examinees to two individual prompts for…

Information was gathered about current state interest, activity, and concerns related to performance assessment for students. The Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing of the University of California (Los Angeles) conducted telephone interviews with directors of testing in each of the 50 states in the spring of 1990.…

This paper outlines how the Austin Independent School District (Texas) tried to deal with the following questions: (1) Should special education students be included in the administration of standardized tests?; (2) Should their scores be included or excluded in the reporting of test results?; and (3) What are the evidences that test scores reflect…

This bulletin contains general information about the Grade 12 Diploma Examinations Program in Alberta, Canada. All twelfth graders must write at least one diploma examination to receive a high school diploma. The examination certifies academic achievement in English 30 and 33, Social Studies 30, Mathematics 30, Biology 30, Chemistry 30, Physics…

The Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) exit level test was first administered to all eleventh grade students in October 1985. A make-up testing was conducted in January 1986. This report contains the results of the May 1986 retesting of approximately 3,200 11th-grade students who had previously failed to master either the…

The effects of failing to pass a high school exit exam were examined for the Georgia Basic Skills Test (GBST). Data were collected on a random sample of students who were tenth graders in 1983 and in 1984. The following issues were studied: (1) impact of failure on self esteem, as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale (P-H);…

The Value Added Program for assessing undergraduate education at Northeast Missouri State University is described. The program is in its 12th year and has as its driving force a comprehensive student data base that includes measures of individual student performance at the entering freshman level and at the end of the sophomore year, as well as…

This study involved the assessment of classroom teachers' standardized and mastery program testing needs and proficiencies by a random sample of Ohio principals and supervisors (N=586). A total of 229 supervisors, 313 building principals, and 44 individuals in related supervisory roles was used. The findings from the investigation support the…