The focus of the achievement gap seems to be less about racial and ethnic distinctions and more about disparities in socioeconomic status. Students from affluent and secure backgrounds have a running head start on students mired in poverty. Few young people in the United States live in more challenging conditions than the children of the eastern…

Eric Premack grew up in Minneapolis; graduated from Washburn High School. After graduate school in public policy he went to California; worked initially with the Office of the Legislative Analyst where he was assigned to education finance; then worked as a consultant in the field. In 1991 he began making people in California aware of the…

This is the College Board's response to a research article by Drs. Maria Veronica Santelices and Mark Wilson in the Harvard Educational Review, entitled "Unfair Treatment? The Case of Freedle, the SAT, and the Standardization Approach to Differential Item Functioning" (see EJ930622).

In a global knowledge economy, filling in the bubbles on a standardized test isn't going to prepare children to succeed in life. This is the time to shed the old conflicts and come together. In this article, the author suggests a new path forward--toward a 21st-century education system, a serious and comprehensive reform plan to transform U.S.…

Responds to Richard Innes's criticism of his June 2002 "Kappan" article. (PKP)

This article presents the author's comments on ""Lake Woebegone," Twenty Years Later" by J. J. Cannell, MD. J. J. Cannell's article on the so-called "Lake Woebegone" effect for K-12 educational testing systems is mostly an historical account of technical issues and policy considerations that led in part to development…

School effectiveness cannot be assessed by comparing group performances on standardized tests. Instead, each child's progress, in accordance with his or her capabilities, should be measured. Certain assessment models can help chart individuals' progress in reading and writing. Focusing on individual results enchances collective program assessment.…

In recent years, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has focused the educational lens on testing children rather than teaching them. Much to the dismay of many educators and parents, the burden of this yearly ritual falls most heavily on learning disabled students, who are often tested inappropriately. A clear picture of what these special-needs students…

Even though Joel lived a continent away, many sixth-graders at a Title I school in California could easily identify with his life of poverty. Their empathy motivated them to launch an ambitious charitable project, which, Mr. Mitchell argues, had far greater educational value than the relentless test preparation that is standard fare in most…

The legislative history of legislation concerning disclosure of standardized college admissions test items is reviewed, the effect of existing laws in California and New York is outlined, and public policy and legal questions leading to and resulting from the legislation are discussed. (MSE)

Despite widely-held beliefs to the contrary, three different sources of research data prove that children in the 1990s read better on the average than either their father's generation or their grandfather's generation. "Then and Now" studies indicate that students read better now than decades ago. Restandardization of test norms also…

Presents a letter to the Governor of California from a teacher who questions the appropriateness of standardized testing and teaching to the test and who recommends that the Governor become a leader in protecting, empowering, and authentically educating today's students. Concludes by recommending several books on how to enhance students' health…

There is a need for more precise descriptions of the claims to truth of standardized tests, of their interpretive authority, and of the limits of understanding which are reached through their processes. Typically minority students who score poorly on such tests do because their schools fail to connect with them. Pedagogy, therefore, must somehow…

Traces development of educational accountability in California; examines role of state political leadership; considers impact of requirements of reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (PKP)

This article will argue that cost-benefit analysis persuasively demonstrates that truth-in-testing laws are socially and economically justified but often fall short of providing a comprehensive regulatory scheme adequate to correct the market dislocations generated by an unregulated testing industry. (Author)