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ERIC Number: EJ737335
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 30
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0895-9048
EISSN: N/A
Reforming Federal Testing Policy to Support Teaching and Learning
Yeh, Stuart S.
Educational Policy, v20 n3 p495-524 2006
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) assumes that state-mandated tests provide useful information to school administrators and teachers. However, interviews with administrators and teachers suggest that Minnesota's tests, which are representative of the current generation of state-mandated tests, fail to provide useful information to administrators and teachers about areas that need attention. The use of a single level of difficulty causes harmful stress and provides measurements of poor quality for many students. Computer-adaptive tests are a practical alternative, provide more useful information, reduce stress among students, and address four major concerns that teachers have about testing. This alternative could strengthen the link between testing and improved educational outcomes and improve the chances that NCLB will have a positive impact. However, current federal policy prohibits the use of computer-adaptive tests for accountability purposes. This article provides specific recommendations that potentially could address four critical concerns about current state-mandated tests. (Contains 1 figure, 1 table, and 6 notes.)
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; Web site: http://sagepub.com.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Minnesota
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: No Child Left Behind Act 2001
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A