This report presents the Austin (Texas) Independent School District's 1985 test results on the Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS). It was administered to all third, fifth, and ninth grade students and to high school students not meeting ninth grade state-set mastery criteria, the minimum competency requirement for graduation. Results are…

The Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) required that all students who graduated in 1985-86 and previous years have skills in reading and mathematics equivalent to ninth-grade level or above. Special education students who could not be validly tested were exempted from the requirements. Students who had not met the requirements could…

Describes the process the teaching staff of one college went through in developing an exit examination and standards for their English 101 course, and states that students are writing better and that the instructors are better teachers of writing because of it. (CRH)

The California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), established in 1999, requires all high school students beginning with the class of 2004 to pass the CAHSEE to earn a high school diploma. A study was conducted in a large urban school district in central California of the first year of implementation of CAHSEE. The study gathered evidence about…

This digest is designed to provide information to Texas testing coordinators, other educators, and interested citizens about the development procedures and technical attributes of the state-mandated criterion-referenced assessment program. The chapters are: (1) "Background"; (2) "Test Development"; (3) "Test…

South Carolina's Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) assesses basic skills in reading, mathematics, writing, and science for grades 3, 6, 8, and 10 (exit examination). In 1998, the tests were administered statewide in April. This report provides 3 years of data on percentages of students meeting state standards. The data are reported by…

What are some remediation programs for students who do not pass high stakes exit exams? Regardless of one's personal beliefs about high stakes exit exams, 52% of all high school students in the United States who are in public schools will be required to take and pass an exit exam. Nationally, these tests are gaining momentum. In most cases,…

A study of the success of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students on an institutional exit exam showed that ESL students are twice as likely as native English speakers to fail the exam although they compensate by passing the appeal. The findings suggest that portfolio assessment may be more valid for judging ESL students' writing. (Contains 25…

State and local officials are slowly untangling complicated webs of accountability, testing, and graduation policies, hoping to give thousands of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina a better handle on their academic standing. While officials in Texas, Tennessee, and Alabama offered some guidance to such students, school leaders in…

This article deals with the report, entitled "State High School Exit Exams: A Maturing Reform", that addressed the achievement gaps that exist for minority and English language learner (ELL) populations. In this article, the author shows how Hispanics and ELLs lag behind Caucasians in terms of passing percentage in different subject areas. The…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a high school graduation examination influences instructional practices. Data were obtained from a survey instrument given to a stratified random sample of Tennessee science teachers who teach the content that is tested on their state's high school graduation examination. An analysis showed teachers…

To raise the achievement of every student, Maryland designed "Achievement Matters Most," a plan for public schools that sets goals in the areas of achievement, teaching, testing, safety, and family involvement in schools. Achievement Matters Most supports Maryland schools' efforts to meet the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind…

School systems aspire to provide equal opportunity for all, irrespective of socio-economic status (SES). Much of the criticism of recent school reforms that introduce accountability, autonomy, and choice emphasizes their potentially negative consequences for equity. This report provides new evidence on how national features of accountability,…

At the request of the Hawaii Department of Education, Achieve conducted a study of Hawaii's 2005 grade 10 State Assessment in reading and mathematics. The study compared the content, rigor and passing (meets proficiency) scores on Hawaii's assessment with those of the six states that participated in Achieve's earlier study, "Do Graduation…

This descriptive report examines the strategies of the six Southeast Region states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina) to improve high school graduation rates and student achievement and to increase the number of students leaving high school with the skills and knowledge necessary for the twenty-first…