Mandated, standardized national testing is being discussed as a means of improving education by holding schools accountable. Making schools genuinely accountable means involving teachers in developing assessment methods that measure what students know and can do. This approach ties assessment to instruction, improvement of practice, and the…

Summarizes the negative effects of high-stakes standardized testing, presents the national testing vision outlined by the National Education Goals Panel, and identifies curricular and technical problems needing resolution before the NEGP's vision can be realized. Negative effects include politically inflated scores, narrowed curricula, and…

Voluntary national tests based on national and international benchmarks can be powerful tools for change in all schools. The tests would help monitor students' progress at two key educational junctures--fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math. Tests would be based on the National Assessment of Education Progress content frameworks and…

Authentic testing, consisting mainly of the three P's (performance, portfolios, and products) must be evaluated in light of practicalities and usage context. This article reviews British experience with standard assessment tasks (SATs), concentrating on issues pertaining to technical adequacy, efficiency, manageability, standardization,…

Counterbalancing the simplification of education caused by testing means relying on classroom teachers' conceptual powers. Classroom teaching is labor intensive and varies from room to room because diversity is the norm. Specifying standard academic skills and curriculum has not upgraded education. Children need opportunities to confront…

The intensive drive to promote national standards and assessments has gathered support from unproven connections between U.S. economic success and the nature of learning in schools. Now that teachers are being challenged to produce a bottom-up sea-change in their own classrooms, Uncle Sam's presence in the back of the room may be a growing problem…

America 2000 tries to advance both student achievement and educational freedom (through school choice). Its newly formulated learning standards and achievement tests could benefit children of all regions and backgrounds. America 2000 will strengthen all citizens' future by creating a national mechanism for quality control. (11 references) (MLH)

Characterizing this special "Kappan" section on test-based accountability as a cautionary plea, this article sees five themes: tests seldom measure what matters; standardization gets confused with standards; tests constitute a limited reform lever; test-based accountability plans often misplace trust and protection; and the…

Views President Bush's America 2000 plan as a rhetorical masterpiece with minimal public input and maximum government interference. Examines program recommendations regarding teacher improvement, choice, the New American Schools Development Corporation, and national testing. Discusses three omitted topics: school finance, growing youth poverty,…

Observing that an undesirable byproduct of competency testing for teacher certification has been a nationwide decrease in the number of Blacks entering teaching, this article analyzes Louisiana data on race of National Teacher Examinations takers and declining percentages of Blacks entering the profession. (MJL)

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 has focused the attention of educators, policy makers, and the public on accountability for performance in public education. Yet many of those who will be responsible for improving school performance lack guidance on how to proceed in the brave new world of NCLB accountability. For the most part, state…

One of the most controversial aspects of NCLB is its performance requirements for subgroups within the general student population. In this article, the authors examine the implications of these requirements for English-language learners and offer recommendations to help states, districts, and schools facilitate the progress of these students.

Comments on "Kappan's" practice of presenting essays by Presidential candidates concerning their mission for education. (MLH)

President George Bush claims to have increased federal spending on education and favors readiness goals, school choice, voluntary national examinations, and increasing Pell grant awards. (MLH)

Presidential challenger, Governor Bill Clinton, critiques President Bush's record, promising to scrap the existing student loan program and deliver a workable educational reform package. (MLH)