This paper addresses the controversy about use of "out-of-level" testing, the practice of assessing students (usually those with disabilities) with a lower-level version of a test. The controversy pits unintended instructional consequences against "accurately" measuring performance and avoiding student frustration. Introductory…

A study investigated the Educational Testing Service's claim about the conversational nature of the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) from the perspective of native speakers of the target second language. Eight subjects listened to 16 randomly-selected OPI communicative speech events, and their perceptions were measured using a semantic…

Contributions to this collection explore the relationship between education and assessment in the context of the British National Curriculum and mandated nationally standardized assessment procedures. The chapters are: (1) "Concepts of Assessment: An Overview" (Vic Kelly); (2) "Progression, Observation and Assessment in Early…

In the United States today tests of the ability to perform well in school divide society and define opportunity. Higher education has become a major focus of aspirations people hold for their children, and educational testing determines who qualifies for higher education. This history recounts the development of intelligence testing and its early…

This book makes a scholarly contribution to the debate about standardized testing in American education by using the methods of discourse analysis to examine not only representative material from reading tests but also children's responses to it. The book is particularly attentive to the role of culture in shaping children's understanding of what…

To study the characteristics and academic achievement of home schooled students, data were compiled for 20,760 students in 11,930 families. Families chose to participate before they knew their children's test scores, reducing the possibility of reporting higher scores while leaving lower scores out of the analysis. All students took the Iowa Tests…

The purpose of this study was to examines the relationship between students' core knowledge and their achievement in mathematics and reading on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. The study was based on E. D. Hirsch's theory that having a strong foundation of core knowledge in one grade is necessary for growth and the understanding of new and more…

Viewing standards from the perspective of classroom teachers, this book discusses the need to alter middle school culture to facilitate meaningful improvements in the teaching-learning environment. It emphasizes efforts by middle grades educators to make schools and classrooms places where more students work harder to do work of higher quality…

This document consists of the four 1999 issues of the "Journal of Educational Relations," published quarterly to promote student achievement through positive school-home- community relationships. The articles in the first issue include: "The 10 Major Educational Events of the 20th Century in the United States" (Ben Brodinsky)…

Success for All is the most extensively researched of all comprehensive reform models for Title I elementary schools. It incorporates scientifically based principles of reading, cooperative learning, professional development, tutoring, and family support. Minnesota elementary schools using the Success for All reading program have once again made …

Success for All is the most extensively researched of all comprehensive reform models for Title I elementary schools. It incorporates scientifically based principles of reading, cooperative learning, professional development, tutoring, and family support. Oregon elementary schools using the Success for All reading program once again made…

Nine states and three of the nation's biggest cities have adopted mandates intended to end "social promotion"? promoting students to the next grade level regardless of their academic proficiency. These policies require students in certain grades to reach a minimum benchmark on a standardized test in order to move on to the next grade. Florida,…

During the 2001-02 school year, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) officials contracted with the Grow Network[TM] to provide supplemental reporting of student test results to parents, teachers, and school administrators. Under terms of its contract with CPS, the Grow Network provides a variety of resources, including individualized, printed score…

This report takes an in-depth look at Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teachers' responses to the high-stakes-testing initiatives and the impact on students' school experiences. It examines teachers and principals' assessments of the policy, tracks changes in instructional practice over time, and examines trends in critical student indices. The report…

This issue brief examines the knowledge and skills teachers need in order to teach in an environment of accountability and standards-based reform. The Education Policy Reform Research Institute (EPRRI) conducted a national symposium that resulted in the identification and validation of essential knowledge and key skills that all educators need to…