This Handbook is intended to help educators understand testing, interpret test results, and defend the selection, construction, and use of tests. The Handbook, tailored to the needs of educators, analyzes only tests used by educators. The Handbook contains more than 100 reviews of tests used routinely to make education decisions and assess skills…

This digest presents various views of the federal role in testing and offers a brief examination of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the "nation's report card," in its national sample format and its state administration, which critics fear has the potential to become a de facto national test if selected as the…

In spring 2001, close to 500,000 Arizona students in grades 1 through 9 took the Stanford Achievement Test. This study focuses on reading in the earliest grades and mathematics in the middle grades. Arizona schools have been making progress in reading, lifting students from the lowest achievement levels to higher levels. However, 25% of students…

To understand the achievement gap between Black and White students, test performance on Delaware statewide assessments was studied. The study focused on Black-White test score gaps in reading, mathematics, and writing across grades 3, 5, 8, and 10 by achievement level, item format, and gender within each racial/ethnic group over time. The…

Alternate assessments provide a mechanism for students with complex disabilities to be included in assessment systems. An integral part of maximizing the benefits of assessing students is to include the results of alternate assessments in school accountability systems. This report addresses policy options for including the results of alternate…

The use of statewide tests of student achievement as one component of accountability are certainly not new. An increasing number of states have mandated statewide testing through legislation aimed at tying financial incentives to a variety of accountability indicators including student achievement. These initiatives have generated several side…

This booklet provides parents and students with answers to their questions about ISTEP+ (Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus), which measures tenth-grade student achievement in English/language arts and mathematics. After a letter from Suellen Reed, Indiana's Superintendent of Public Instruction, the booklet discusses what…

This report is a review and analysis of the psychometric literature on the topic of out-of-level testing. Out-of-level testing refers to the practice of using a level of the test other than the test taken by most of the students in a student's current grade level. Much of the research on out-of-level testing was conducted in the 1970s and 1980s,…

This paper describes some of the issues of fairness for Hispanic English Language Learners (ELLs) taking the Stanford 9 (SAT 9) achievement test, a norm-referenced standardized achievement test administered annually to California students in grades 2-11. Until a student is at ease in English, a process that may take as long as 7 years, an…

Beginning in 1999, all of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) had to be aligned with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards. This handbook describes the PSSA mathematics assessment. Following an overview of the PSSA, the second chapter focuses on the development and scoring of the mathematics assessment. Administering the assessment…

Beginning in 1999, all of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) had to be aligned with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards. This handbook describes the PSSA writing assessment, which was designed to measure individual student performance and to influence instruction. The guide contains a chart of the Pennsylvania Academic Standards…

This guide provides policymakers with research-based information about international achievement studies. International achievement studies focus on the collection and analysis of cross-national information, either data on student achievement or background information about students, teachers, and institutions. The chapters are: (1) "What Are the…

This document presents results for students in the Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS), North Carolina, on the North Carolina Tests of Computer Skills. In 1991, North Carolina established a computer proficiency requirement for graduation, which is now effective for the class of 2001. Beginning in 1967, eighth graders were to have at least one…

This report presents highlights of the research activities of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The ACER is a national independent research body that specializes in collecting and interpreting information to shape strategic decision making. In addition to being a national center for educational policy research and advice,…

In question-and-answer form, this pamphlet describes the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP). The CSAP tests are designed to measure student achievement in relation to the Colorado Model Content Standards. Every student enrolled in the grades tested is expected to take the appropriate CSAP. The CSAP tests are developed collaboratively by…