The National Urban League president and CEO Marc H. Morial weighs in on what he sees as the need for continued annual assessments of students, rejecting the course of opting out that has taken hold in some places across America. Assessment data provides students with the opportunity to receive personalized supports and necessary interventions to…

The multiple-choice question (MCQ) is the foundation of knowledge assessment in K-12, higher education, and standardized entrance exams (including the GRE, MCAT, and DAT). However, standard MCQ exams are limited with respect to the types of questions that can be asked when there are only five choices. MCQs offering additional choices more…

College professors often regard their time in the classroom fulfilling and rewarding; the chance to affect the academic and professional development of their students is most likely a key reason why they chose to be professional educators. Unfortunately, with college courses come college credits, which necessitate a course grade for each student,…

Assessment is a hotly contested issue in education today. The education policy No Child Left Behind (NCLB) emphasizes standardized testing throughout a child's schooling as a major means of assessment. Even at Head Start an attempt was made at standardized testing using the National Reporting System (NRS). Although research indicates that these…

In 1977 the Dallas Independent School District devised a 5-year state-mandated improvement plan for increasing student test scores in priority goal areas. This paper describes the planning process as it evolved, the problems faced by large districts, and the 5-year student achievement results. The original plan contained eight priority goal areas,…

This booklet reports on the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in geography for 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students, a test given for the first time to establish baseline data for measuring student progress in geography well into the future. The booklet contains the following sections: (1) Why We Assess Geography; (2) The 1994…

This booklet reports on the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in U.S. History for 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students. The booklet contains the following sections: (1) Why We Assess History; (2) Preparing the 1994 NAEP U.S. History Assessment; (3) What is NAEP? (4) Creating a Framework for the U.S. History Assessment, with What…