Large-scale learning assessments can be used to generate performance and contextual data on student learning outcomes. They can be national, regional, or international; school based or household based. The UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO) has conducted a qualitative study to explore both how and why learning…

What does "rigor," a word that frequently pops up in conversations about education, really mean? More specifically, what does it mean for "literacy" instruction, and how does it relate to challenging standards-based assessments? In this informative and practical guide, literacy expert Nancy Boyles uses the framework from Webb's…

The authors develop model analyses based on a U.S. Department of Education guide to illustrate procedures a State could use to compare and contrast school-level overall and English Learner accountability determinations for proficiency in reading/language arts under the options allowed by the Every Student Succeeds Act. As a technical reference,…

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) is transitioning from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) to the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® 2.0 (FCAT 2.0) to align with new student academic content standards. This booklet has been prepared to help understand the reports for the FCAT 2.0. It includes explanations of the reports,…

This paper provides observations of physical fitness testing in Texas schools and physical education teachers' insights about large-scale testing using the FITNESSGRAM[R] assessment (Cooper Institute, 2007) as mandated by Texas Senate Bill 530. In the first study, undergraduate and graduate students who were trained to observe and assess student…

Accountability in the nation's public schools has become a matter of considerable urgency since the 2001 amendment of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. Under this most recent version of the ESEA, as of the 2007-08 academic year states and districts must assess the mathematics and reading proficiency of students…

The Utvardering genom uppfoljning (UGU) project was initiated in Sweden to follow individual students throughout their school career to understand their experiences and learnings during that time. Approximately 18,600 students from grades six and three comprised the survey population. This newsletter serves as an interim report highlighting key…

This "Summary Report" is the last report of the findings of the 1985 Manitoba Reading Assessment. The report contains a description of the study along with recommendations based upon teachers' and principals' opinions and the judgment of the Technical Advisory Committee. The purposes of the 1985 Reading Assessment were: (1) to provide…

In March of 1984, a total of 55,771 New Mexico public school students in grades 3, 5, and 8 were tested with the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) as required by the statewide standardized testing program. This document reports scores as national percentile ranks, and indicates the position of New Mexico students compared to a national…

Results of the second administration of the New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills (MBS) Tests in reading and mathematics are reported for students in grades 3, 6, 9, and 11. The reading tests are organized according to clusters of items: (1) word recognition; (2) comprehension; and (3) study skills. The mathematics tests are also organized into…

To assist districts in analyzing and using the second set of results (the summary reports for class, school and district) from the New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills Tests, this guidelines booklet was developed. The booklet is divided into four main sections: (1) required interpretation of the summary reports; (2) interpretation checklist; (3)…

The results of the achievement testing program of the Alberta (Canada) public schools are reported for the June 1991 administrations. The 1991 results help demonstrate what is possible for students in grades 3, 6, and 9 to know and do in science, mathematics, and social studies. For the first time, results are reported in terms of curriculum…

This is the final report of a Kansas state project which had four purposes: (1) Involvement of teacher training institutions with the unified school districts' career education program in order to gather information needed to provide realistic experiences for inservice education of future career education teachers, (2) involve the community in…

The guide is intended for use by Alberta's (Canada) local school authorities developing a language arts program in a language other than English or French. In these partial immersion programs, instruction is provided in a language other than English or French for 25-50% of the school day. The first section describes the development of the…