Though performance assessment has its place, it is not always appropriate. Standardized testing is sometimes preferable. The paper describes states' roles in shaping statewide student testing, discusses state assessment to compare schools and school systems, and suggests that improving teaching environments and increasing the value attached to…

This California examination teacher guide provides essential information and preparation guidelines for teachers and serves as an instructional aid in the classroom. The guide deals with the disciplines of economics, government/civics, and United States history. Each discipline area is divided into five main sections: (1) "Test Content"…

This document presents descriptions of the content that has been identified as essential for all Kentucky students to know and will be included on the state assessment, the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS). The core content in this document is designed to be used with, not instead of, the expectations outlined in…

This test manual presents information on the Brockport Physical Fitness Test (BPFT), a criterion-referenced fitness test for children and adolescents with disabilities. The first chapter of the test manual includes an introduction and target populations are identified, defined, and classified. The second chapter presents information on the…

This kit contains materials necessary to administer the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS), an assessment battery designed to evaluate cognitive processing in children 5 through 17 years of age. Derived from the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive (PASS) theory, the four processing areas comprise the four scales that make up the CAS.…

The Values Scale (VS) is a self-report inventory of 106 scored items yielding 21 separate scales for the individual assessment of upper elementary school and middle school students as well as adult members of semi-skilled, skilled, clerical, managerial, and professional occupations. The VS, available in seven languages, measures several intrinsic…

Dimensions of Learning is an instructional model that is based on the premise that five types of thinking are essential to the learning process: (1) positive attitudes and perceptions about learning; (2) thinking involved in acquiring and integrating new learning; (3) thinking in extending and refining knowledge; (4) thinking in using knowledge…

Examines reasons why student assessment is undergoing reform, discussing how such reform may affect the nation's schools. The paper describes why school reform is occurring, notes how reform of assessment fits school reform, explains types of assessments and assessment designs, and highlights practical and technical challenges inherent in using…

Increasing emphasis on assessment and concern about assessment techniques have stirred interest in alternative assessment forms, for which evidence is needed about consequences, transfer of performance on specific assessment tests, and assessment fairness. Criteria concerning consequences, fairness, transfer-generalizability, cognitive complexity,…

At the heart of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is the call for all students to be "proficient" in reading and mathematics by 2014. Yet the law expects each state to define proficiency as it sees fit and design its own tests. This study investigated three research questions related to this policy: (1) How consistent are various…

For the past 8 years, Research for Better Schools, Inc. (RBS) has prepared an analysis of state-wide trends in student achievement in the mid-Atlantic states (i.e., Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). For this year, instead of quantitatively examining trends in student achievement scores, RBS decided to…

This paper discusses the development of a criterion-referenced assessment measure for both written English and American Sign Language (ASL) that can be used with deaf elementary through secondary students. The measure is presented as well as the results of a trial use. Developed by the Cleary School for the Deaf, the Cleary Language Assessment…

This document provides basic information about the Statewide Student Assessment System in New Mexico. There are four components of the Statewide Student Assessment System that are guided by the State Department of Education. Each component serves a specific purpose and targets specific grade levels. The purpose of the reading assessment of grades…

This summary report provides information about three of New Mexico's statewide assessments in 1997-1998. In spring 1998, the CTBS5/Terra Nova Survey Plus achievement test was administered to approximately 65,000 students in grades 4, 6, and 8 as part of the New Mexico Achievement Assessment Program. With three exceptions, the median national…

This article describes the Behavior Rating Profile-Second Edition, a rating scale designed to identify students ages 6.6 to 18 years with behavioral, emotional, personal, and social adjustment problems. The test contains a Teacher Rating Scale, a Parent Rating Scale, and Student Rating Scales. Its administration, reliability, and validity are…