Introduces the symposium that explores the 1997 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) arts assessment. Provides information on NAEP, the arts assessment, and its importance; a discussion on the results of the arts assessment; and interpretations and implications of the results. Offers suggestions for arts advocacy. (CMK)

Results are presented from two studies involving 190 primary and high school students and 146 primary students with reading difficulties. These studies contributed toward the development of five 200 word standardized passages which may be employed interchangeably to monitor the performance of students with reading difficulties towards achieving…

Describes a survey of libraries listed in several special collections directories to determine how educational and psychological tests were organized and managed. Discusses access through cataloging or classification; management practices such as staffing, hours of availability, security, and preservation methods; and a copy of the survey is…

In this article, the author analyzes and summarizes geographic education in Louisiana from a historical perspective with a specific emphasis on the degree to which geography was implemented into the state's standards. To accomplish that, he draws from the following three sources of information: active and retired social studies teachers from a…

In 1998, California state legislation called for significant reform in the preparation of teachers. As a result, institutions of higher learning must now conduct a formal performance-based assessment. All teacher candidates must participate in the assessment at the end of the program for receipt of the preliminary teaching credential. The…

Colleges and universities seeking to assess proficiencies in information and communications technology may wish to learn more about new assessment tools developed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), in collaboration with higher education partners. This article describes the administration of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)…

The Polish school education system makes a distinction between two types of assessment: (1) Intra-school or internal assessment; and (2) External assessment. The idea of introducing external examinations into the Polish school education system emerged in 1992. This was directly inspired by study visits to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands…

The IRT (Item Response Theory) has been studied and applied in computer-based test for decades. However, almost of all these existing studies evaluated focus merely on test questions with text-based (or static text/graphic) type of presentation form illustrated exclusively. In this paper, we present our study on test questions using both…

During the past 25 years, the country witnessed a dramatic transformation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Actions by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), Congress, and the National Assessment Governing Board fundamentally changed NAEP's role in federal educational policy and the nation's schools. Developed in the 1960s…

This paper presents the two top Democratic lawmakers on education policy who will seek to retain the core accountability features of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Representative George Miller of California would likely support more funding for the law, while seeking to keep its requirements…

This test, the Silver Drawing Test (SDT), evolved from a belief that the intelligence of children and adults who have poor language skills tends to be underestimated. The aim of the SDT is to provide an instrument for assessing the cognitive skills of individuals who have difficulty understanding others and making themselves understood. There are…

The contrasting groups method is one of many possible methods for setting passing scores. The most commonly used method is probably that developed by W. H. Angoff (1971), but it has been suggested that the Angoff method may not be appropriate for many standard setting applications in education. The contrasting groups method is explored as an…

Implications of the educational reform movement's emphasis on testing and assessment are considered as they touch on at-risk students. The four dimensions that must be considered in addressing the assessment of at-risk student populations are (1) antecedent instructional conditions; (2) type of test or assessment; (3) social and educational…

The purpose of this Mississippi study was to determine if there was a correlation significantly different from zero between test scores, level of accreditation (Level 1--the 17 highest-scoring public school districts in the study, or Level 2--the 18 lowest-scoring), district expenditure per pupil, district size, and eligibility of students for…

This document reports the Northern Territory Primary Assessment Program (Australia), which monitors student achievement in reading and mathematics in grades 5 and 7 in urban primary schools and grade 5 to post-primary in Aboriginal schools. The aim of the program is to provide teachers with a set of assessment materials and provide information…