Best Practices for State Assessment Systems, Part I: Summary of a Workshop

By Committee on Best Practices for State AsDivision of Behavioral and Social Sciences and EducationNational Research Council, et al.

Educators and policy makers in the United States have relied on tests to measure educational progress for more than 150 years. During the twentieth century, technical advances, such as machines for automatic scoring and computer-based scoring and reporting, have supported states in a growing reliance on standardized tests for statewide accountability.

State assessment data have been cited as evidence for claims about many achievements of public education, and the tests have also been blamed for significant failings. As standards come under new scrutiny, so, too, do the assessments that measure their results. The goal for this workshop, the first of two, was to collect information and perspectives on assessment that could be of use to state officials and others as they review current assessment practices and consider improvements.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0309153816
• ISBN13: 9780309153812
• Release Date: August 2010
• Publisher: National Academies Press
• Length: 94 Pages