This booklet interprets and summarizes the results of the Connecticut Statewide Basic Skills Proficiency Test as administered to ninth graders in October, 1986. The test measures basic skills in reading and mathematics, and basic writing skills in the language arts. The test is used to identify students who require further remediation in order to…

This document summarizes results of province-wide achievement tests given in Alberta, Canada in June 1987. These tests evaluated student achievement in third grade science, sixth grade mathematics, and ninth grade social studies. The test questions for each subject area reflected Alberta's curriculum specifications for that subject. The grade 3…

The standards-based reform movement in education that began in the 1980s has evolved. In the 1990s, the focus was on producing subject-area content standards and modifying instruction. Today, the focus has shifted to assessment, and for technology education, demonstrating the impact on children and the efficacy of the discipline within general…

Appraises the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, an individually administered test of reading, spelling, and mathematics for children in grades 1 through 12. Considers the test well-conceived and carefully constructed, though not sufficiently tested for validity in the field. (SRT)

Describes an "Assessment Kit" to aid classroom teachers in mathematics. The two sections of the kit, Assessment Supplements and Lesson Supplements, present strategies for assessment as well as suggested classroom activities. (PK)

Discusses some of the aspects of problem solving that teachers can observe for assessment purposes in a student's practical and written work. Suggests that these observations can be incorporated into a student's assessment traditionally or using alternative assessment devices. (PK)

Finding ways to improve the design of large-scale tests is a timely issue. Recent changes in Federal legislation (including the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) have placed greater emphasis on accountability via large-scale tests. Students who have previously been exempted from large-scale assessments, including students with disabilities and…

In school year 2003-2004, state data showed that the percentage of students with limited English proficiency scoring proficient on a state's language arts and mathematics tests was lower than the state's annual progress goals in nearly two-thirds of the 48 states for which data was obtained. To help these students progress academically, state and…

The task of the Ad Hoc Committee on Planning for the the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 12th Grade Assessments in 2009 addresses three policy areas: (1) Conducting assessment at the state level in 12th grade; (2) Reporting on 12th grade student preparedness for college-credit coursework, training for employment and entrance…

In 1995, the American College Testing (ACT) Program conducted a study of the effects of using a calculator in its ACT Assessment and PLAN mathematics tests taken by approximately 38,000 students. Whether there would be changes in the PLAN and ACT score scales as a result of permitting calculator use on the mathematics tests was explored with…

This report is the beginning of a series that will examine the performance of the school children of New Jersey relative to the performance of other children in the United States and worldwide. The measure of performance used was the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics examinations and their linked versions of the…

This document contains four issues of "NAEPfacts," a report series about the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Issue 1 discusses data from the NAEP 1996 Long-Term Reading Assessment, which shows that overall student reading performance has increased for both 9- and 13-year-olds. Issue 2 reports that data from the NAEP…

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the Western Australian Calculus Tertiary Entrance Examination (TEE) papers for 1996-99, two years before and two years after the introduction of graphics calculators on the examination. Changes in the questions that asked students to graph rational functions and students' answers to the corresponding…

This study examined the impact of students' background characteristics (English language proficiency) on the level of effectiveness of various types of testing accommodations. Data were collected from 946 eighth graders, some of whom were English language learners. Four accommodation strategies were used: (1) modified (simplified) English language…

This paper seeks to extend the application of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods in item response theory (IRT) to include the estimation of equating relationships along with the estimation of test item parameters. A method is proposed that incorporates estimation of the equating relationship in the item calibration phase. Item parameters from…