Describes the resistance of a nontraditional public high school, the Durant School, to the global changes that would destroy its local ecology. In this school, the partially successful fight against the imposition of state standards and mandated tests has been a fight to preserve the school's integrity, mission, and autonomy. (SLD)

Argues that standardized testing encourages a standardized pedagogy in a nonstandard, diverse student population and is characterized by logical fallacies and procedural problems. Concludes that conventional tests create barriers to learning and educational policies with important consequences for children. Encourages early childhood teachers to…

Examined the effects of a tri-schedule (traditional, 4x4 block, and hybrid) schedules running at the same time on the academic achievement of 327 high school students. Discusses implications of findings for schools considering block scheduling. (SLD)

Reports on an ongoing evaluation of the Vermont portfolio assessment program. Indicates that the positive news about the instructional effects of the assessment program are in contrast with the empirical findings about the quality of the data the program has yielded. (SLD)

In a coherent educational assessment system, the relation between the cut scores across the grades of a content area should reflect the goals of the educational system moderated by the state of the standards within that system. In this article, we discuss the need for consistent cut scores across the grades of a content area; we present and…

There has been no piece of education legislation in the past decade that has stirred so much comment and controversy as the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110; Elementary and Secondary Education Amendments of 2001). This comprehensive law is designed to ensure quality education for all students, particularly those at risk for academic problems…

The primary objective of this study was to examine the construct validity for the 2 multiple-content testing programs-the multiple-choice Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS/5) together with the performance-based Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP)-by evaluating the true-score longitudinal associations among…

Over the past two decades, the presence and use of technology in the workplace and in schools has increased dramatically. At the same time, the importance of test-based educational accountability has also increased. Currently, formal testing programs are used in 49 states. Some observers have raised concerns that the testing programs that make…

This general achievement trends profile includes information that the Center on Education Policy (CEP) and the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) obtained from states from fall 2008 through April 2009. Included herein are: (1) Bullet points summarizing key findings about achievement trends in that state at three performance…

This report, submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, contains summary details of Delaware students' growth in the areas of reading, mathematics, writing, science and social studies. The results reported herein are part of a long-term effort to gather data on Delaware students' educational progress and use the data to inform decisions about…

The National Governors Association, Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Association of State Boards of Education jointly devised recommendations in 11 areas in order to achieve America's education goals for every student since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. These recommendations included giving…

The Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) was developed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), in response to Texas House Bill 72 (1984), which mandated a new basic skills assessment program for mathematics, reading, and writing at grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. This is one in a series of Instructional Strategies Guides designed to…

Trends in teacher competency testing, test bias against minority group teachers, and ways to encourage qualified personnel to join the teaching profession are discussed. Currently, 21 states require students to pass a test to enter a teacher education program, and 31 require teacher candidates to pass a certification test. Admission tests include…

Florida state legislation has mandated the evaluation of its compensatory education programs. The Florida Accountability Act of 1976 called for minimum basic skills testing in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11 (subsequently amended to grade 10). In 1977, the Florida Compensatory Education Act mandated remedial programs for students performing below the…

A survey was conducted among Ontario, Canada teachers, administrators, and parents regarding the following aspects of French-language achievement testing: which standardized and criterion-referenced tests were used; who developed the tests; how test results were used; how school boards communicated test results to parents; what trends existed in…