Each year, Montana students participate in testing as part of the state's assessment program. This past spring, students in grades 4, 8, and 10 took Montana Comprehensive Assessment System (MontCAS) tests in reading and mathematics. These tests serve as an important measure of student achievement for the state's accountability system. Results from…

Each year, Nevada students in grades 3, 4, 5, and 7 participate in testing as part of the Nevada assessment program. Students in grades 3 and 5 take the Nevada Criterion Referenced Assessment (Nevada CRT) while students in grades 4 and 7 take the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS). These tests serve as an important measure of student achievement for…

Each year, Pennsylvania students participate in testing as part of the Pennsylvania assessment program. Students in grades 5, 8, and 11 take tests in reading and math while those in grades 6, 9 and 11 are assessed in writing. These tests serve as an important measure of student achievement for the state's accountability system. Results from these…

Each year, South Carolina students participate in testing as part of the South Carolina assessment program. Students in grades 3 through 8 take the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Tests (PACT) in English/Language Arts and Mathematics. Students in grade 10 take the High School Assessment Program (HSAP) in English/Language Arts and mathematics. These…

This study investigated the relationship between the scales used for the ISTEP+ assessments and the RIT scales used to report performance on Northwest Evaluation Association tests. The RIT scale was developed using Rasch scaling methodologies. RIT-based tests are used to inform a variety of educational decisions at the district, school, and…

This paper--part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002--addresses the question of how and to what extent institutions of higher learning could be held liable for negligence involving students. The paper is, mainly, a review of recent case law related to the liability of…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 reauthorized and significantly expanded the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Act and its accompanying fund increases offer numerous opportunities to improve teaching and achievement of young adolescents, targeting federal money more than ever to high poverty schools and districts and including…

The School BUS (bottom-up simple) model for school accountability uses local standards-based assessment data to improve schoolwide performance during the year, and from year to year. This system derives its ideas from abundant professional literature about successful school renewal. A local accountability process should link changes in school…

This report, from the Auditor of Public Accounts of the Commonwealth of Virginia, discusses an audit of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) balance sheet as of June 30, 2000. The auditors considered internal controls over financial reporting and tested compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grants in…

This book is about the assessment and inclusion of all students, including those with disabilities, in statewide and district assessment programs. It addresses aspects of assessment such as testing practices, test content, legal guidelines, technical aspects of tests, students' learning objectives, and instructional programs. Throughout the book,…

These two newsletter issues of the National Transition Alliance (NTA) for Youth with Disabilities present articles concerning the transition of youth with disabilities from school-to-work (STW) and related informational items. The first issue contains the following articles: "Contextual Learning" (analysis of one of the five categories…

With the increasing demand for better schools, states and communities are providing more options to families. By doing so, they are not only improving educational opportunity for those children, but also having a dramatic impact on how schools operate in their communities. The most important options are full school-choice programs, charter…

This collection presents 90 papers or summaries of papers presented at a 2000 conference on self-study and institutional improvement for institutions of higher education. Papers are grouped into these chapters, with some sample topics in parentheses: (1) "New Designs in Higher Education, Improving Student Learning: Selected PEW Projects"…

This collection presents 90 papers or summaries of papers presented at a 2000 conference on self-study and institutional improvement for institutions of higher education. Papers are grouped into these chapters, with some sample topics in parentheses: (1) "State, Regional, and National Initiatives" (program descriptions); (2) "Validating Quality in…

This paper reviews how the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) will operate regarding different groups of students and schools, examining factors that could delay or dilute its guarantee of educational accountability for the academic achievement of all children. It discusses such issues as: what kinds of tests must be used and when, who must…