The three articles in this newsletter focus on questions of what teacher knowledge consists of and how it can be measured. Three contemporary efforts to assess teacher knowledge, each with a different purpose, are presented. The first, based on a report of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, summarizes state assessment efforts and…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1998 Writing Assessment measured student writing performance at the 4th, 8th, and 12th grades. Scoring guides for three different writing purposes at each grade allowed scorers to objectively evaluate students' work. This issue of NAEPfacts includes a 12th-grade persuasive writing scoring…

The state-by-state comparisons of results on the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) present the literacy community with some good news and a bit of a puzzle: scores have improved, but the results cannot provide answers as to why one grade or state is doing better or worse than in the past. State-by-state results show that…

The objections of testing experts to standardized testing are evaluated. The report begins with a foreword by Chester E. Finn, Jr., followed by an executive summary and an introduction. Four case studies include: (1) experts' opposition to high-stakes testing in Texas; (2) in North Carolina; (3) concerns raised in connection with the National…

Standardized college-level tests of thinking have serious drawbacks, but they can be used effectively to compare results with other teachers or researchers and to suggest possible ways of measuring aspects of thinking in faculty-constructed tests. Faculty-designed tests should provide opportunities for students to use the important knowledge and…

The Research and Evaluation Branch of the Los Angeles Unified School District presents a bulletin to help prepare students to do their best on achievement tests. The bulletin is divided into five sections. After an introduction, section 2, "Characteristics of Today's Standardized Achievement Tests" discusses test content, test format,…

This document consists of the two 2000 issues of the "Journal of Educational Relations," published twice yearly to promote student achievement through positive school-home-community relationships. The articles in the first issue include: "Behaviors of a Principal Directly Influence a School's Culture" (Douglas J. Fiore) and…

Assessment is more than simply ascribing an 'A' or a 'B' to a particular student achievement. In an era of state-mandated proficiencies and alternative assessment strategies, educators need practical ideas they can use to meaningfully assess their students' learning and their own practice. This issue of "ENC Focus" centers on the topic…

In this issue on admissions in colleges and universities, the history of the admissions process and trends are outlined, and the current situation of declining enrollments reviewed. The place of testing is discussed briefly, and other factors in selection listed: student background (educational, extracurricular, and ethnic), and student…

This booklet provides parents, teachers, administrators, and policymakers with information about achievement testing which is relevant to their needs. The first section presents an overview of the current market for standardized achievement tests and provides key definitions, distinctions between ability and achievement testing, comparisons of…

The FairTest Examiner is a quarterly newsletter that discusses the appropriate use of tests and test results. Many of the features address recent events in the field of educational testing reform. The bulletin's regular features include: current news items, a list of recommended reading material, a listing of FairTest personnel, announcements of…

The Alaska Statewide Assessment Test is administered to fourth and eighth graders every two years in reading and mathematics. Assessment Report 7 describes how the assessment process works, analyzing results, test content, results for 1983, and statewide average scores. A question-answer format is used to discuss the following: (1) Was students'…

Issued twice yearly, this journal focuses on materials of interest to teachers of reading at the college level. The five articles in this issue deal with the following topics: basic skills instruction, judging the success of college reading programs, the effect of copying or paraphrasing structurally-cued topic sentences on passage comprehension,…

This bulletin was founded at the eleventh World Congress on Reading, held in London in 1986. Its subject is Literacy Education in Asia and its objective is to "enable different National Councils to share information about literacy in their own region and how problems are met." (WTB) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)

The approach taken by three Texas school districts in high poverty and high minority areas to improve standardized achievement scores is explored. The three districts implemented an instructional management program consisting of aligning the curriculum, filling the curriculum gaps, and monitoring student progress. A first step in the curriculum…