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6 Assessment and Accountability in the Education System
Pages 59-70

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From page 59...
... In the 1970s, concerns about reading and computational literacy led many states to implement minimum competency programs as a requirement for high school graduation. The role of assessment continued to evolve, as policy makers turned to assessment as a way to improve education.
From page 60...
... In addition, states participating in the second Education Summit in Palisades, New York, in March 1996 agreed to establish clear academic standards for student achievement in core subject areas and to assist schools in accurately measuring student progress toward reaching these standards (National Education Goals Panel, 19961. Assessments provide a systematic way to inform students, 60
From page 61...
... Although NAEP results provide no information about individual students, many state assessments are designed to compare individual student performance levels to specific state standards. Assessments are designed to serve particular purposes, and assessment experts warn that a test designed for one purpose is unlikely to be appropriate for an entirely different purpose.
From page 62...
... They continuously assess what students know and how they have come to that understanding by, for example, reviewing homework, managing discussions, asking questions, listening to student conversations, answering questions, and observing student strategies as they work in class. Assessment and instruction interact when teachers collect evidence about student performance and use it to shape their teaching (NRC, 2001a; Shepard, 2000; Black and Wiliam, 1998; Niyogi, 1995~.
From page 63...
... School districts may use their own or commercially developed tests to measure their progress against national norms, to evaluate their own programs, or to monitor the level of individual student learning for placement purposes. Some state and local district assessments are "high stakes." That is, they carry important consequences for students, teachers, or schools, such as promotion to the next grade, salary allocations, or monetary bonuses for schools (CCSSO, 1999a)
From page 64...
... . A number of states and districts have attempted to use portfolios to document student learning over time, but have encountered substantial problems due to scoring difficulties and costs (Koretz, 1998; Stecher, 1998~.
From page 65...
... If politicians and educators believe that full alignment of content, instruction, and assessment will positively affect student outcomes, they may invest considerable effort in trying to ensure that such alignment is in place across all levels of the education system. On the other hand, researchers and others have raised concerns about using large-scale assessments to monitor student and school performance (Resnick and Resnick, 19921.
From page 66...
... In addition, there is concern about the validity of what assessment data seem to indicate about student performance. A recurring pattern is evident in the implementation of a new test a decrease in student performance the first year, followed by sharp increases in achievement in subsequent yearsthat may overstate actual student growth (Linn, 2000~.
From page 67...
... Teachers would use classroom assessment results to inform instructional decisions and to provide feedback to students about their learning. Teachers, administrators, and policy makers would employ multiple sources of evidence regarding what a student knows and is able to do, as is called for in the standards, rather than relying on a single source.
From page 68...
... Finally, college entrance and placement tests would measure content that is valued by standards created at the national level and contain tasks aligned with those standards. THE ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY CHANNEL AND NATIONALLY DEVELOPED STANDARDS The Framework questions (see Figure 3-3)
From page 69...
... · To Hat extent do assessment systems report student achievement for demographic subgroups of the populations so policy makers can determin~e whether all students are making progress towards higher standards? · What actions have keens taken to align college entrance and placement tests with nationally developed standards?
From page 70...
... Although there may be other grounds upon which individuals or groups elect to accept or reject the standards, the only empirical approach for making that judgment presumes that standards have had opportunities to permeate the education system, and, having done so, are associated with student-learning outcomes that can be judged as desirable or undesirable. HOW THE FRAMEWORK CAN BE USED The Framework is intended to help guide the sponsorship, design, and interpretation of research on nationally developed standards.


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