Schools are drowning in test data, but many schools do little with test results other than sort students into various categories of proficiency or lack thereof. Some educators feel testing has taken the joy out of teaching. Others believe valuable instructional time has been lost as a result of testing. Yet, NCLB and other federal and state…

Most of us have had at least one amazing teacher who has inspired, influenced, or encouraged us to do better, aim higher, or just be more confident. However, most of us have also had at least one teacher who has not met our expectations. In "Teachers Matter", education researcher Marcus A. Winters, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute,…

"Classroom Assessment in Action" clarifies the multi-faceted roles of measurement and assessment and their applications in a classroom setting. Comprehensive in scope, Shermis and Di Vesta explain basic measurement concepts and show students how to interpret the results of standardized tests. From these basic concepts, the authors then…

National and state assessments have produced an abundance of data regarding the strengths and weaknesses of student achievement. However, to date, little has been written to guide educators regarding the use of these data to increase student achievement. This practical guide will provide educators with a step-by-step process for gathering and…

Author Lyn Lesch advocates that learning cannot be measured by empirical results like testing and grading. As the founder of Chicago's The Children's School, Lesch didn't give grades or submit students to standardized testing. Such conditions may seem blasphemous to most educators, but the results spoke for themselves. Without the high-stakes…

For the past 15 years, economist Ronald Ferguson has investigated the myriad factors that combine to create racial disparities in academic performance. Beginning with his analysis of the impact of test scores in predicting racial wage gaps, Ferguson has explored how rates of progress in narrowing gaps have varied over the recent decades, the roles…

Although standardized testing is increasingly prominent in the United States, the testing industry has not received much attention. The industry and the market for standardized tests are examined, emphasizing the fragmented nature of the market. After an introduction, Chapter 2 describes the testing marketplace, and Chapter 3 reviews evidence on…

This publication on the New South Wales' Basic Skills Testing Program (BSTP) describes the development of the program's tests, the analysis of students' results, and the communication of results to parents, teachers, and schools. In BSTP tests, basic skills are defined not as low-level, rudimentary survival skills, but as major areas of learning…

This comprehensive report on Texas schools indicates that more than 80 percent of students pass the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TASS) test, and students continue to show impressive gains on math and reading tests. Chapter 1, "Student Performance," provides data on student performance on the Spring 2000 Texas Assessment of…