Basically, test directors have four systemwide and building level responsibilities: (1) planning, administration and evaluation of standardized testing programs; (2) application of measurement and evaluation to school problems; (3) classroom testing and evaluation; and (4) external testing programs. In a series of brief memos, measurement and…

This plan presents the procedures to be followed in the administration of the Florida College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) for the 1994-95 academic year. The document specifies the responsibilities of the Department of Education, the technical support contractor, and individual institutions. The plan does not include procedures needed in…

This score interpretation guide is designed to help administrators and classroom teachers understand the scores and scales of the 1994 and Beyond Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP). MSPAP scale scores indicate a school's level of performance in the content areas of reading, writing, language usage, mathematics, science, and…

This book is meant to be a guide to standardized reading tests, to help teachers live with tests. Standardized, norm-referenced reading tests are a fact of life for most teachers. The suggestions in this book are drawn form the experience of teachers in the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University. Part…

Designed for parents of kindergarten and elementary school children in Austin, Texas, this brochure explains the structure and function of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. A question and answer format is used to provide information on the scope and purposes of the tests, grade level differences in testing, meaning and accuracy of the scores, and…

This guide to the ninth-grade French test for Alberta students describes the testing program, provides examples of the type of test to be administered in June 1990, and includes an answer key. Information about the testing program includes general objectives, an overview of the program type, students exempted from the test, testing for students…

This guide is part of a series designed to assist school personnel to profile their data to support local school decisions. The profiling process can be used in school improvement programs. This particular guide describes the measurement of student attitudes toward schooling, about one's schools performance, about feelings toward school as a place…

This paper addresses 11 commonly asked educational policy questions by referring to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) findings in five learning areas. The paper is organized for quick reference to the 63 findings, which are, in turn, indexed to the NAEP reports in which they originally appeared. Findings in reading, literature,…

The Basic Occupational Literacy Test (BOLT) measures basic skills of educationally disadvantaged adults in four content areas: reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, arithmetic computation, and arithmetic reasoning. Alternate forms of each subtest are available at each of three or four levels of difficulty. The Wide Range Scale is used to…

Audiences were surveyed at the federal, state, and local levels in an effort to determine how the National Assessment of Educational Progress could be made more useful in meeting their needs. Recommendations fell into several major categories: (1) increased dissemination of assessment materials and access to data; (2) increased data interpretation…

The Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) staff developed strategies to train teachers and principals to use state assessment results for improving academic achievement in their schools. Two local uses of the state assessment results are (1) using the results of grades 4, 7, and 10 with the students tested, and (2) using the results to…

The purpose of this article is to comment on practice in the use of existing data bases in program evaluation and school improvement and to explore directions for increased and improved use. (BW)

This update provides information about the Nebraska Statewide Writing Assessment follow-up, the federal reporting of assessment information, and preparing the school District Assessment Portfolio. The information is intended to assist local educators in the reporting of local assessment information in June 2001. The update on the writing…

This 20-minute videotape features 2 schools that have maintained a school culture based on using myriad data sources and processes to fuel their school-improvement activities. In the video the voices of teachers and administrators in each school articulate the ways they have used data to improve student achievement. They highlight numerous data…

This is the third in a series of six monographs developed to help local educators use and report Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test results. These results provide reliable, objective information on the status of basic skills education useful in reviewing and revising the curriculum and instructional program. This review requires…