This study examines whether the results of standardized tests are distorted when rewards and sanctions are attached to them, making them high-stakes tests. It measures the correlation in school-level test results -- including both score levels and year-to-year score changes -- on high-stakes and low-stakes tests administered in the same schools in…

Advocates of vouchers believe that public schools facing the threat of losing students and funding to private schools will take the measures necessary to raise student performance. Opponents worry that vouchers will actually leave public schools worse off by draining them of funds and encouraging the best students and the most involved parents to…

Many states have implemented high-stakes testing since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Yet the question remains whether high-stakes tests effectively measure student proficiency. This report describes a study that compared results on high-stakes tests with results on other standardized tests not used for accountability…