The national examination systems of Ethiopia and South Australia are compared with an eye toward identifying problems in the Ethiopian system. Authentic assessment, which has never been a part of the examination system of Ethiopia, should be introduced along with other innovations patterned on the Australian system. (SLD)

The relevance of state results on tests of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is illustrated with data from the "Digest of Education Statistics--1990" (U.S. Department of Education). Evidence indicates that the contributions of state differences such as economic or demographic differences to NAEP results cannot be…

Test data from 1,305 Israeli fifth graders involved in the Second International Science Study were analyzed to assess the role of in-school versus out-of-school activities on scientific knowledge. Most of the knowledge that children master within the school is the same as that which they master outside the school. (TJH)

Presents a history of higher education in Jordan and describes the kingdom's community college system. Details the system's development and its academic programs. Summarizes major concerns, including the comprehensive exit examination, remediation, community service, and unemployment of graduates. Points to articulation as the colleges' most…

The experiences of Poland in educational testing are reviewed from 1918 to 1990. Trends affecting the future of educational testing in Poland are considered. Current economic and political conditions in Eastern Europe may keep educational testing in a relatively minor position as more vital national needs are addressed. (SLD)

The development and validation of a weighted index capable of discriminating among competing learner needs to allow equitable resource allocation are described. Using the Delphi technique, this national study was concerned with the needs of Australia's school-age population with non-English-speaking backgrounds. (TJH)

Describes the construction and field-testing results of intermediate-level tests for Canada' National Core French Assessment. Teachers found the instruments flexible to use and helpful for evaluating desired learning outcomes. Students found them beneficial for focusing and organizing learning activities. Both teachers and students found them…

Suggests that the claims of advocates of centralized standards and universal testing of schools must be questioned and that alternatives to testing should be considered for the educational output of schools. Argues that supporters have failed to consider the costs of national essay-type tests and the inherent problems of test reliability. (MJP)

Large-scale assessment programs rely on teachers to administer the tests and to interpret and communicate the results. Consequently, it is important that teachers have up-to-date knowledge about the testing programs. Education Departments' web sites are ideal tools for communicating such information to teachers. The web sites of Education…

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…

When a state test and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are both measuring the same construct, the achievement gaps between subgroups on both tests should be the same. However, if a teacher or school engages in "teaching to the test" then student performance may improve on one test but not on another. We hypothesized that…

The Center on Education Policy (CEP) has been studying state high school exit examinations since 2002. This is the sixth annual report on our comprehensive study of exit exams. The information comes from several sources: our survey of states that have mandatory exit exams, interviews with state officials, media reports, state Web sites, and case…

This paper examines several issues and challenges associated with performance-based assessment in science through experiences with two large-scale student assessment projects. The first is the Common Core of Learning (CCL) Science Assessment Project designed to explore the use of classroom-embedded performance assessment for the evaluation of…

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has contracted with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research to develop and field test performance assessments in mathematics, language arts, and science. Together with a Wisconsin-developed knowledge and concepts test, the new performance assessments will provide important information about the…

A study undertaken in Japan investigated the degree to which students' use of English as a Second Language in journal writing outside of class corresponded to their performance on language tests. Specifically, the correct use of articles in the position and function of "a, an, and the" was examined. Subjects were students in a secondary…