This report contains aggregate and disaggregated state-level results from administrations of North Carolina's computer skills tests (performance and multiple choice) in 2000-2001. The report also provides limited information about the performance of school districts and charter schools. Additional data are included in this report about the…

As the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) has expanded, growing to 26 tests in 8 grades by 2002, new administration procedures have been needed. As these test administration procedures evolved, they were communicated through different avenues. This document consolidates the procedures to facilitate better understanding and more consistent…

This study modeled school and district effects in the mathematics scores of the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) using hierarchical linear modeling. Three-level hierarchical models were fitted to estimate school and district effects in the DSTP mathematics scores and to examine the school and district variance with variables assessing…

A study was designed to help teachers discover which tools best predict future success in reading proficiency. It sought to find out whether commonly used reading assessments and/or measures of oral reading fluency could predict reading proficiency as measured by a standardized criterion-referenced achievement test of reading. In the first…

The annual student performance information released in Indiana reports information on many different criteria and treats the data as if all comparisons should be the same. However, Indiana needs to set performance expectations that require all, not just some, students to improve. The Indiana Statewide Test of Educational Proficiencies Plus…

The quality and the effectiveness of the 1992 New Jersey Grade 8 Early Warning Test (NJEWT) are assessed. Standardized tests possess clear advantages for educators, especially in the case of administration and scoring, but there are clear disadvantages as well, including the possibility of bias. Four criteria are applied to the NJEWT: adequacy,…

Test publishers have promoted their commercially available, norm-referenced achievement tests as viable solutions to assessment challenges faced by states. They argue that their tests are developed professionally, and, therefore, possess sound psychometric properties not often found in state-specific efforts. This study compared judgments from two…

The Elementary School Proficiency Assessment (ESPA) is New Jersey's test for fourth graders. It is designed to give the school information about how well students are achieving in the areas required by New Jersey's Core Curriculum Content Standards. This guide offers parents, students, and teachers information about the ESPA. The parent…

As part of a study of the inclusion of English language learners (ELLs) in large-scale assessments, this study investigated the potential role of student preference in the use of accommodations with large-scale assessments and the effects of two test accommodations, providing extra assessment time and reading test items aloud, on the standardized…

The articles in this report were prepared to help the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) examine and clarify its public policy positions and its operational procedures in the area of standard setting for the future of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). They examine evaluations of the NAGB achievement levels setting…

New ways are proposed to look at data from the Canadian School Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP) using item response theory (IRT) modeling. The focus is on the traditional test of the SAIP 1997 mathematics study. The test is two-staged in that the first 15 items, of median difficulty, were to be completed beforehand by all students as a…

In 1998, the Stanford Achievement Test Series, Ninth Edition, Form TA (Stanford 9) was administered to Virginia students in grades 4, 6, and 9 as the norm-referenced component of the Virginia State Assessment Program. As in the previous year, from 93 to 96% of Virginia's students took the Stanford 9, although the first administration was taken by…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires that all children, including English language learners (ELLs), reach high standards by demonstrating proficiency in English language arts and mathematics by 2014. Schools and districts must help ELL students, among other subgroups, make continuous progress toward this goal, as measured by…

This statistical report presents the results of performance on the Idaho Standards Achievement Tests (ISAT) by Special Programs. Statistics from each school district in the state of Idaho are included. The subjects of Reading, Language Usage, and Mathematics are covered. Special programs discussed include: Economically Disadvantaged; Limited…

Maine's approach to assessing state standards, the Learning Results, has been to use a combination of state and local measures in building a "comprehensive assessment system." The state test, the Maine Educational Assessment (MEA), was revised in 1999 to align more closely with content standards and performance indicators established in…