This paper presents six chapters that describe how statewide reading assessment is currently being performed and how the data are being used. The validity of statewide reading assessment instruments and the appropriate uses of statewide reading assessment data are explored. Several chapters discuss new ways in which some states conduct reading…

This guide for parents explains implications of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which requires the participation of students with disabilities in statewide and districtwide assessments, leading to greater accountability by the educational system for educational results for all students. The guide notes that…

This policy paper provides a list of questions and associated strategies that parents and parent organizations can address in an effort to ensure that statewide assessment systems fully and fairly include students with disabilities as required by the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and other federal laws.…

Assessments should improve performance by providing usable feedback, and should not merely audit it. Problems with educational accountability policies stem from a flawed view of student assessment. Intellectual excellence cannot be obtained via one-time mandated tests composed of proxies for real challenges. Common standards should be developed…

This resource document provides general information about literacy portfolio assessment, guidelines on using the technique, and a format for getting started. The first part discusses testing and assessment in adult literacy and basic education, alternative assessment, and literacy portfolios. The second part contains a list of questions and steps…

This publication compiles a series of 18 articles originally published in 1989-91 in the Arithmetic Teacher on implementing the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) K-8 curriculum standards. The articles and references in the bibliography are organized into five groupings: (1) "Themes That Cut Across Mathematics," covering…

Performance-based assessment provides an alternative identification method for young gifted children. A performance-based identification process was developed and implemented to select three-, four-, and five-year-old children for inclusion in a school for gifted children. Literature regarding child development, characteristics of young gifted…

Issues of the relative costs of multiple choice tests and alternative types of assessment are explored. Before alternative assessments in large-scale or small-scale programs are used, attention must be given to cost considerations and the resources required to develop and implement the assessment. Major categories of cost to be considered are…

This book is intended to facilitate the meaningful inclusion of students with disabilities in district and state assessments as required by the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. First, an introductory chapter offers reasons for including students with disabilities in district and statewide accountability systems.…

This paper describes a collaborative approach to using general education rubrics as an additional assessment strategy to American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education members who are revising and sustaining their institutional and teacher education assessment programs. Faculty members from a rural, comprehensive private college in…

This analysis of a survey of state directors of special education concerning special education outcomes highlights the following findings: (1) more students with disabilities are participating in statewide testing and states are better at documenting actual numbers participating; (2) high stakes attached to school or district performance and lack…

Two studies focused on concurrent validity and instructional decision making in using alternative reading measures with elementary regular and special education students. The first study examined the relation of oral reading performance to several other reading measures; the second study investigated teacher decision making, using quantitative and…

Discusses the use of technology to support alternative assessment, including portfolios of student work. Multimedia computer software programs are reviewed; database programs, hypermedia programs, and video portfolios are discussed; technology storage is considered; and future possibilities are suggested, including hardware options. (Contains two…

Maintains that issues of student assessment and grading are of particular concern to music teachers. Discusses and describes performance-based and alternative assessment techniques. Recommends the use of portfolios to determine student grades. (CFR)

This article explores the measurement problems associated with granting accommodations for mental disabilities, uses existing case law to construct a legal framework for considering such accommodations, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of alternative strategies for handling testing accommodation requests. (Author/SLD)