This study produced by the Eurydice network gives a detailed picture of the context and organisation of national tests in 30 European countries and the use made of test results in informing education policy and practice and in guiding the school career of pupils. It presents the diverse choices made by European countries regarding the objectives,…

Designing high-quality professional development for mathematics educators requires close attention to many facets of teacher learning. "Learning from NAEP" is a valuable manual-plus-CD resource containing activities and workshops that facilitators can use as is or tailor to the unique needs of participants in their school's or district's…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only continuing measure of the achievement of U.S. students in key subject areas. The National Research Council's Committee on the Evaluation of National and State Assessments of Educational Progress conducted an evaluation of the NAEP. This report contains the conclusions this…

Updated for 2005, this comprehensive volume offers a snapshot profile of every public school district in the United States serving 1,500 or more students and provides pertinent evaluative and demographic statistics necessary to evaluate educational programs nationwide. This book is a comprehensive compilation with more details, more test scores,…

This book describes how examinations and national assessments can be used to encourage more pedgaogically sound teaching and learning. It provides concrete examples of ways to measure student learning and describes how to develop, score, and interpret tests to ensure that they are valid, reliable, and fair to all children. It offers techniques and…

In this book, Karen Tankersley provides a multiplicity of practical, research-based reading strategies tailored specifically for use with older students. These students may no longer have a reading class as part of the school day, but they are still developing their reading skills--and every teacher contributes to that effort. As in her previous…

On May 18, 1994, a groups of scholars, policymakers, educators, and interested observers met at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., to analyze a relatively new phenomenon in American education--national standards and assessments. The discussion took place a few weeks after Congress enacted Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the Clinton…

This group of readings describes the university examination system in India, and suggests improvements which can be implemented within the current framework of the system. The papers are grouped into six sections: (1) descriptions of the evolution of the undergraduate examinations in India and their present status; (2) discussions of the…

This study looks at how testing affects critical decisions for U.S. students, focusing on the impact of testing on individual students. It examines common misuses of tests, their political and social contexts, what happens when test issues are taken to court, special student populations, social promotion, and other issues of current interest. The…

Compulsory national testing for children at ages 7, 11, 14, and 16 years is part of the British National Curriculum. This development contributes to the fact that the issue of assessment is of increasing interest to parents, teachers, administrators, and employers. This book attempts to explain how assessment systems work and the uses that can be…

This report provides an overview of the competency-based education movement, discusses school administrators' concerns and attitudes concerning the competency movement, describes the experience of various school districts and states with minimum competency requirements, and presents practical guidelines for implementing minimum competency…

The Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) organized a conference in May 1994 around the theme of assessment for better student learning. The chapters in this collection constitute a selection of the 32 conference presentations. All have been rewritten for this book, although Dary Erwin's chapter (chapter 3) was especially written…

Recognizing the importance of national educational assessments, an increasing number of countries have begun to establish their own systems, and many have sought support from the World Bank. This book provides background on national assessments through papers developed for three World Bank seminars. The papers are: (1) "Introduction"…

In recent years, education systems in more than 50 countries have shown an interest in obtaining information on what their students have learned as a result of their educational experiences. It seems likely that the number of countries interested in this sort of information will increase in the future. This book is intended to provide an…

In this paper, the author reviews a number of criticisms that have been made of the use of standardized tests in the social studies and reviews 11 general, skills, and discipline-oriented standardized tests for social studies. Standardized tests evaluating the results of the new social studies courses are open to criticism on the basis of…