The article provides background rationale for the conception and development of an Assessment Alternatives Kit for mathematics. It was designed to support teachers of K-10 to explore a range of possibilities in their own classrooms. (PK)

The purposes of this paper are to analyze some problems in using student test scores to evaluate teachers and to propose an achievement-based model for teacher evaluation that is effective, affordable, fair, legally defensible, and politically acceptable. The system is designed for detecting and documenting poor teacher performance. (Auth/JAZ)

Describes advantages and disadvantages of computer-assisted foreign language testing, including unique capabilities of the computer, types of tests possible, limitations, problems, and language skill testing. The Spanish Computer Adaptive Placement Examination, developed at Brigham Young University (Utah), is described. (CB)

Criteria used for evaluating the records of overseas candidates for an undergraduate degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are outlined. Secondary school diplomas considered to be equivalent to and not equivalent to the Israeli Bagrut system are discussed, along with attaining equivalency through previous university study or other programs.…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Testing Goes to Preschool: Will State and Federal Testing Programs Advance the Goal of School Readiness for All Children? (Robert Rothman); (2)…

This report focuses on the structure of instructional assistance available through the Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) to students who show low achievement in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), North Carolina. Context information is also provided on other programs available to these students. Reports on ALP student participation,…

This analysis of the findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 1996 for North Carolina documents the state's substantial and sustained gains in educational achievement since 1990. The education reforms of the 1980s are beginning to pay off in North Carolina. It has moved from its historic position at the bottom of all…

These discussions of performance-based student assessment provide a record of a decade-long exploration of unsettled issues in assessment. The first section provides the elements of a basic rationale for performance-based assessment, while the second section contains accounts of efforts to develop new performance-based systems in one city and four…

A survey was completed by 30 administrators in Northwest Ohio who were in charge of the administration and remediation for the Ohio Ninth Grade Proficiency Tests for their respective schools. On a scale of 0 to 5 (0 signifying not at all and 5 signifying great extent), the respondents were asked to rate 20 different intervention and remediation…

One of the first tasks in developing the academic achievement indicator for the Plan-Canadian Education Indicators Program was to survey each province and territory about existing student assessment and examination practices. Survey results are reported. There is considerable diversity in Canadian assessment and evaluation practices because…

In this study, FairTest evaluated how well state assessment practices live up to the promise of high standards without standardization. The practices of states were measured against standards derived from the "Principles and Indicators for Student Assessment Systems," a 1995 publication of education and civil rights groups working…

FairTest evaluated how well state assessment practices live up to the promise of high standards without standardization. The practices of states were measured against standards derived from the "Principles and Indicators for Student Assessment Systems," a 1995 publication of education and civil rights groups working through the National…

The Delaware Student Testing Program ties student achievement to the state's content standards that define the knowledge and skills Delaware students need to succeed beyond high school. This report presents information to help parents interpret their children's scores on the tests, which are given in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10. Section 1 introduces…

The extent to which classroom instruction and assessment activities in mathematics are aligned to the State of Maryland's Learning Objectives and the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) was studied by examining the underlying structure of the mathematics teacher questionnaire developed and administered to teachers in the 1996-97…

This pamphlet explains a child's Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) "Student Report for Parents/Guardians." In spring 1999, more than 210,000 students from grades 4, 8, and 10 in Massachusetts took the state's MCAS tests. All public students in grades 4, 8, and 10 are required to participate, and the Education Reform…