This text on the assessment of students with disabilities focuses on accuracy in assessment and testing and the need for functional and meaningful assessment practices. The 14 chapters are grouped into 4 major parts. The first part, "An Introduction to Assessment," describes a comprehensive evaluation and discusses the mandatory…

This report summarizes statewide data and individual school district performance for Alaska's 53 school districts and addresses how well the districts are meeting the goals of the Alaska Quality Schools Initiative. The report is divided into four sections that address the four components of the initiative: high student academic standards and…

To examine long-term effects of a fundamental elementary education in Mesa (Arizona), this study assessed student characteristics, academic achievement based on standardized testing, and social interactions based on high school extracurricular activities. Students who had attended the fundamental school for 6 complete years, had remained in the…

This paper contends that much of the time and money devoted to standardized testing in the United States is misspent. Too many tests are poorly constructed, unreliable, and unevenly administered. Multiple-choice tests cannot measure thinking skills or real problem-solving ability. In addition, many examinations are biased racially, culturally,…

A study was conducted to determine the effects of testing on teaching and learning, focusing on standardized norm-referenced tests. A questionnaire was administered to 85 kindergarten through grade 12 teachers from a large urban school district who were attending a teacher leadership workshop. Fifty-five respondents were from elementary schools,…

An evaluation of a school reform project in one kindergarten through grade 5 school in Atlanta (Georgia) is presented to demonstrate how triangulation of qualitative and quantitative evaluation approaches can enhance understanding of a reform effort. During the 1991-92 school year, the final year of the project, Fowler Drive Elementary School…

Implications of the six National Education Goals for African Americans and other minority groups are discussed in a paper that summarizes the status of student competencies. The question posed is why the school reform movement thus far has had such a minimal impact on overall student achievement. The focus of the reform movement of the 1980s is…

The Enhanced American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are the two primary college admission test batteries administered in Nevada. This report provides an overview of the two examinations and major trends pertinent to Nevada in 1991. These tests apply to only a portion of the high school student population, and are not…

The North Carolina statewide testing program is designed to determine and ensure the competence of high school graduates, evaluate the educational process, and provide public accountability for educational results. There is little law to guide school administrators in dealing with various ethical issues in statewide testing, but there are some…

The Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS) is a behavioral rating instrument for use in evaluating social skills and problem behavior patterns of preschool- and kindergarten-aged children, aged three through six. It is a norm-referenced, standardized instrument developed specifically for use in assessing young children in a variety of…

This paper examines: (1) what those who directly employ and educate America's students after they leave high school think of the quality of the U.S. elementary and secondary schools; (2) what recent students and their parents think of the quality of the education they or their children received; and (3) what a cross section of Americans think…

This study assessed whether or not classroom-based micro-computer applications can help improve students' performance on standardized tests, and which subject areas such programs are most effective in for fourth graders in two Mississippi schools. The Teaching and Learning with Computers (TLC) program placed a local area network in the school with…

This administrator's summary describes the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency (TAP). The TAP battery is designed to provide information about the strengths and weaknesses of the instructional program and about skills performance of individual students in grades 9 through 12. The TAP may be administered at the year's beginning, middle, or end;…

Teacher attitudes toward the high school proficiency test were identified through a 15-question survey distributed to 39 secondary school teachers representing various demographic school populations. The subjects were selected from five graduate education classes and a small city high school. The median number of years of teaching experience was…

Distinct multiple regression models are discussed, along with issues and problems related to their application to the practical problem of identifying effective schools. Statistical results obtained from the application of each model are discussed. The first model was implemented in 1984, and the second in 1992. In 1984, it was decided to identify…