A comprehensive, statistical review of gender differences in verbal performance has not been conducted in several decades and the majority of previous work on this topic used published studies that often include small, non-representative samples. The introduction of national legislation in US public schools required schools to assess and publicly…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) permits the Secretary of Education to use NAEP achievement level scores, in concert with other data, to confirm state testing results. The U.S. Department of Education has not yet published a guidance document describing how NAEP might be used appropriately. A review of the literature from the Department and…

This article discusses the issues and implications of high stakes tests on English language learners (ELLs). As ELLs are being included in all high stakes assessments tied to accountability efforts (e.g., No Child Left Behind), it is crucial that issues related to the tests be critically evaluated relative to their use. In this case, academic…

An overview is provided of the issues involved in the development of programs to assess institutional effectiveness, particularly as they relate to California community colleges. After part I reviews the trends that have made institutional accountability a legislative concern nationwide, parts II and III consider various definitions of…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) began, upon its institution in 2002, to hold states more directly accountable for the progress of all students, including students of color and students of low socioeconomic status (SES). These groups of students have historically performed less well than their White or upper-class peers. In 2001, prior…

Current testing and selection practices in schools and the workplace are examined to describe the experiences of handicapped people and to determine the extent to which testing is a barrier to the full participation of handicapped people in society. The Panel on Testing of Handicapped People dealt in depth with the legal and psychometric issues…

Set against the backdrop of a decade in which college admissions test scores have declined, this report reviews issues affecting college admissions testing and their implications, and focuses specifically on the debate between the makers and supporters of standardized tests and test critics. Overviews of the College Entrance Examination Board's…

This two-part report considers the implications of Florida's Post-Secondary Reorganization Bill for community colleges. Part I first presents the relevant sections of the Bill, which mandate that college students' computation and communication skills be tested at entry; that colleges provide remediation and counseling appropriate to students'…

Intuitively, class size reduction is a good idea. Parents support it because it means that their children will receive more individual attention from teachers. Teachers like it for the same reason and also because it creates a more manageable workload. It is generally assumed that the fewer students in a class, the better they will learn and the…