Organized around the four key areas outlined in the U. S. Department of Education's Race to the Top program, this volume presents a collection of seminal articles on standards and assessment; using data to improve learning; recruiting and retaining great teachers and leaders; and turning around failing schools. Following a foreword by Robert B.…

A study was conducted of the feasibility of establishing an equivalency scale that would enable commercial state tests to be linked to one another and to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). In evaluating the feasibility of linkages, the study committee focused on the linkage of various fourth-grade reading tests and the linkage…

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…

The British Education Act of 1944 stipulated that instruction and training be offered according to the ages, abilities, and aptitudes of pupils. One specific problem concerned the entry to secondary schools of pupils from a variety of primary schools. The resulting problem of determining the different aptitudes and abilities has been partially…

This book is meant to be a guide to standardized reading tests, to help teachers live with tests. Standardized, norm-referenced reading tests are a fact of life for most teachers. The suggestions in this book are drawn form the experience of teachers in the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University. Part…

Perceived declines in student achievement and family environment and the perceived ineffectiveness of increases in educational expenditures have stimulated the present investigation, which focuses primarily on estimating the change in achievement test scores that can be attributed to changing family and demographic characteristics. Family…

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…