TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Jay P. Heubert A2 - Robert M. Hauser TI - High Stakes: Testing for Tracking, Promotion, and Graduation SN - DO - 10.17226/6336 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6336/high-stakes-testing-for-tracking-promotion-and-graduation PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education AB - Everyone is in favor of "high education standards" and "fair testing" of student achievement, but there is little agreement as to what these terms actually mean. High Stakes looks at how testing affects critical decisions for American students. As more and more tests are introduced into the country's schools, it becomes increasingly important to know how those tests are used—and misused—in assessing children's performance and achievements. High Stakes focuses on how testing is used in schools to make decisions about tracking and placement, promotion and retention, and awarding or withholding high school diplomas. This book sorts out the controversies that emerge when a test score can open or close gates on a student's educational pathway. The expert panel: Proposes how to judge the appropriateness of a test. Explores how to make tests reliable, valid, and fair. Puts forward strategies and practices to promote proper test use. Recommends how decisionmakers in education should—and should not—use test results. The book discusses common misuses of testing, their political and social context, what happens when test issues are taken to court, special student populations, social promotion, and more. High Stakes will be of interest to anyone concerned about the long-term implications for individual students of picking up that Number 2 pencil: policymakers, education administrators, test designers, teachers, and parents. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - James W. Pellegrino A2 - Lee R. Jones A2 - Karen J. Mitchell TI - Grading the Nation's Report Card: Evaluating NAEP and Transforming the Assessment of Educational Progress SN - DO - 10.17226/6296 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6296/grading-the-nations-report-card-evaluating-naep-and-transforming-the PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education AB - Since the late 1960s, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—the nation's report card—has been the only continuing measure of student achievement in key subject areas. Increasingly, educators and policymakers have expected NAEP to serve as a lever for education reform and many other purposes beyond its original role. Grading the Nation's Report Card examines ways NAEP can be strengthened to provide more informative portrayals of student achievement and the school and system factors that influence it. The committee offers specific recommendations and strategies for improving NAEP's effectiveness and utility, including: Linking achievement data to other education indicators. Streamlining data collection and other aspects of its design. Including students with disabilities and English-language learners. Revamping the process by which achievement levels are set. The book explores how to improve NAEP framework documents—which identify knowledge and skills to be assessed—with a clearer eye toward the inferences that will be drawn from the results. What should the nation expect from NAEP? What should NAEP do to meet these expectations? This book provides a blueprint for a new paradigm, important to education policymakers, professors, and students, as well as school administrators and teachers, and education advocates. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Lauress L. Wise A2 - Robert M. Hauser A2 - Karen J. Mitchell A2 - Michael J. Feuer TI - Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests: Phase 1 SN - DO - 10.17226/6324 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6324/evaluation-of-the-voluntary-national-tests-phase-1 PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education AB - In his 1997 State of the Union address, President Clinton announced a federal initiative to develop tests of 4th-grade reading and 8th-grade mathematics that would provide reliable information about student performance at two key points in their educational careers. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the Voluntary National Tests (VNT) would create a catalyst for continued school improvement by focusing parental and community-wide attention on achievement and would become new tools to hold school systems accountable for their students' performance. The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) has responsibility for development of the VNT. Congress recognized that a testing program of the scale and magnitude of the VNT initiative raises many important technical questions and requires quality control throughout development and implementation. In P.L. 105-78, Congress called on the National Research Council (NRC) to evaluate a series of technical issues pertaining to the validity of test items, the validity of proposed links between the VNT and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), plans for the accommodation and inclusion of students with disabilities and English-language learners, plans for reporting test information to parents and the public, and potential uses of the tests. This report covers phase 1 of the evaluation (November 1997-July 1998) and focuses on three principal issues: test specifications and frameworks; preliminary evidence of the quality of test items; and plans for the pilot and field test studies, for inclusion and accommodation, and for reporting VNT results. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Richard F. Elmore A2 - Robert Rothman TI - Testing, Teaching, and Learning: A Guide for States and School Districts SN - DO - 10.17226/9609 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9609/testing-teaching-and-learning-a-guide-for-states-and-school PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education AB - State education departments and school districts face an important challenge in implementing a new law that requires disadvantaged students to be held to the same standards as other students. The new requirements come from provisions of the 1994 reauthorization of Title I, the largest federal effort in precollegiate education, which provides aid to "level the field" for disadvantaged students. Testing, Teaching, and Learning is written to help states and school districts comply with the new law, offering guidance for designing and implementing assessment and accountability systems. This book examines standards-based education reform and reviews the research on student assessment, focusing on the needs of disadvantaged students covered by Title I. With examples of states and districts that have track records in new systems, the committee develops a practical "decision framework" for education officials. The book explores how best to design assessment and accountability systems that support high levels of student learning and to work toward continuous improvement. Testing, Teaching, and Learning will be an important tool for all involved in educating disadvantaged students—state and local administrators and classroom teachers. ER - TY - BOOK TI - Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests, Year 2: Interim Report DO - 10.17226/9652 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9652/evaluation-of-the-voluntary-national-tests-year-2-interim-report PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Lauress L. Wise A2 - Richard J. Noeth A2 - Judith A. Koenig TI - Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests, Year 2: Final Report SN - DO - 10.17226/9684 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9684/evaluation-of-the-voluntary-national-tests-year-2-final-report PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education AB - In his 1997 State of the Union address, President Clinton announced a federal initiative to develop tests of 4th-grade reading and 8th-grade mathematics that could be administered on a voluntary basis by states and school districts beginning in spring 1999. The principal purpose of the Voluntary National Tests (VNT) is to provide parents and teachers with systematic and reliable information about the verbal and quantitative skills that students have achieved at two key points in their educational careers. The U.S. Department of Education anticipated that this information would serve as a catalyst for continued school improvement, by focusing parental and community attention on achievement and by providing an additional tool to hold school systems accountable for their students' performance in relation to nationwide standards. Shortly after initial development work on the VNT, Congress transferred responsibility for VNT policies, direction, and guidelines from the department to the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB, the governing body for the National Assessment of Educational Progress). Test development activities were to continue, but Congress prohibited pilot and field testing and operational use of the VNT pending further consideration. At the same time, Congress called on the National Research Council (NRC) to assess the VNT development activities. Since the evaluation began, the NRC has issued three reports on VNT development: an interim and final report on the first year's work and an interim report earlier on this second year's work. This final report includes the findings and recommendations from the interim report, modified by new information and analysis, and presents our overall conclusions and recommendations regarding the VNT. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - M. Susan Burns A2 - Peg Griffin A2 - Catherine E. Snow TI - Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children's Reading Success SN - DO - 10.17226/6014 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6014/starting-out-right-a-guide-to-promoting-childrens-reading-success PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education AB - A devastatingly large number of people in America cannot read as well as they need for success in life. With literacy problems plaguing as many as four in ten children in America, this book discusses how best to help children succeed in reading. This book identifies the most important questions and explores the authoritative answers on the topic of how children can grow into readers, including: What are the key elements all children need in order to become good readers? What can parents and caregivers provide all children so that they are prepared for reading instruction by the time that they get to school? What concepts about language and literacy should be included in beginning reading instruction? How can we prevent reading difficulties starting with infants and into the early grades? What to ask school boards, principals, elected officials, and other policy makers who make decisions regarding early reading instruction. You'll find out how to help youngsters build word recognition, avoid comprehension problems, and more—with checklists of specific accomplishments to be expected at different ages: for very young children, for kindergarten students, and for first, second, and third grade students. Included are 55 activities to do with children to help them become successful readers, a list of recommended children's books, and a guide to CD-ROMs and websites. Great strides have been made recently toward identifying the best ways to teach children to read. Starting Out Right provides a wealth of knowledge based on a summary of extensive research. It is a "must read" for specialists in primary education as well as parents, pediatricians, child care providers, tutors, literacy advocates, policy makers, and teachers. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Donald J. Hernandez TI - Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance SN - DO - 10.17226/9592 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9592/children-of-immigrants-health-adjustment-and-public-assistance PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences AB - Immigrant children and youth are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, and so their prospects bear heavily on the well-being of the country. Children of Immigrants represents some of the very best and most extensive research efforts to date on the circumstances, health, and development of children in immigrant families and the delivery of health and social services to these children and their families. This book presents new, detailed analyses of more than a dozen existing datasets that constitute a large share of the national system for monitoring the health and well-being of the U.S. population. Prior to these new analyses, few of these datasets had been used to assess the circumstances of children in immigrant families. The analyses enormously expand the available knowledge about the physical and mental health status and risk behaviors, educational experiences and outcomes, and socioeconomic and demographic circumstances of first- and second-generation immigrant children, compared with children with U.S.-born parents. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Michael J. Feuer A2 - Paul W. Holland A2 - Bert F. Green A2 - Meryl W. Bertenthal A2 - F. Cadell Hemphill TI - Uncommon Measures: Equivalence and Linkage Among Educational Tests SN - DO - 10.17226/6332 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6332/uncommon-measures-equivalence-and-linkage-among-educational-tests PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education AB - The issues surrounding the comparability of various tests used to assess performance in schools received broad public attention during congressional debate over the Voluntary National Tests proposed by President Clinton in his 1997 State of the Union Address. Proponents of Voluntary National Tests argue that there is no widely understood, challenging benchmark of individual student performance in 4th-grade reading and 8th-grade mathematics, thus the need for a new test. Opponents argue that a statistical linkage among tests already used by states and districts might provide the sort of comparability called for by the president's proposal. Public Law 105-78 requested that the National Research Council study whether an equivalency scale could be developed that would allow test scores from existing commercial tests and state assessments to be compared with each other and with the National Assessment of Education Progress. In this book, the committee reviewed research literature on the statistical and technical aspects of creating valid links between tests and how the content, use, and purposes of education testing in the United States influences the quality and meaning of those links. The book summarizes relevant prior linkage studies and presents a picture of the diversity of state testing programs. It also looks at the unique characteristics of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Uncommon Measures provides an answer to the question posed by Congress in Public Law 105-78, suggests criteria for evaluating the quality of linkages, and calls for further research to determine the level of precision needed to make inferences about linked tests. In arriving at its conclusions, the committee acknowledged that ultimately policymakers and educators must take responsibility for determining the degree of imprecision they are willing to tolerate in testing and linking. This book provides science-based information with which to make those decisions. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Alexandra Beatty A2 - Lynn W. Paine A2 - Francisco O. Ramirez TI - Next Steps for TIMSS: Directions for Secondary Analysis SN - DO - 10.17226/6433 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6433/next-steps-for-timss-directions-for-secondary-analysis PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education AB - Now that the initial results of The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) have been released, the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education (BICSE) has turned its attention to what happens next. The TIMSS data are potentially useful to researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and others interested in evidence regarding factors that influence student learning. But although the study has produced a remarkable volume of intriguing data, it is by no means complete. Scholarly review of the initial data, evaluations of claims based on the data, and follow-up secondary analysis based on the primary findings are all integral parts of a study of this magnitude, but the bulk of this very important work has not yet begun. Because of the board's serious concern that this necessary work has not been undertaken, or funded, it held a workshop on June 17 and 18, 1998, to explore different perspectives on possible next steps. The workshop was an invaluable opportunity for the board to explore issues and questions it has addressed over the years and to solidify its thinking about many of them. Because the board is convinced of the importance of moving forward with the TIMSS data, it presents in this report both recommendations as to what ought to be done and many of the innovative specific ideas that emerged from the workshop. These recommendations reflect the board's conviction, based on its many years of involvement with and deliberations about TIMSS, that this study is an extremely rich resource for the policy, scholarly, and practice communities, and that all of these groups have a responsibility to take full advantage of it. The recommendations and discussion in this report are intended to assist both researchers and funders who are considering further work with TIMSS, and a broader audience of researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and others who have followed the TIMSS results and are eager to use them. This report is, in a sense, the culmination of many years of effort for the board. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Designing Mathematics or Science Curriculum Programs: A Guide for Using Mathematics and Science Education Standards SN - DO - 10.17226/9658 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9658/designing-mathematics-or-science-curriculum-programs-a-guide-for-using PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education AB - With the publication of the National Science Education Standards and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, a clear set of goals and guidelines for achieving literacy in mathematics and science was established. Designing Mathematics or Science Curriculum Programs has been developed to help state- and district-level education leaders create coherent, multi-year curriculum programs that provide students with opportunities to learn both mathematics and science in a connected and cumulative way throughout their schooling. Researchers have confirmed that as U.S. students move through the grade levels, they slip further and further behind students of other nations in mathematics and science achievement. Experts now believe that U.S. student performance is hindered by the lack of coherence in the mathematics and science curricula in many American schools. By structuring curriculum programs that capitalize on what students have already learned, the new concepts and processes that they can learn will be richer, more complex, and at a higher level. Designing Mathematics or Science Curriculum Programs outlines: Components of effective mathematics and science programs. Criteria by which these components can be judged. A process for developing curriculum that is structured, focused, and coherent. Perhaps most important, this book emphasizes the need for designing curricula across the entire 13-year span that our children spend in elementary and secondary school as a way to improve the quality of education. Ultimately, it will help state and district educators use national and state standards to design or re-build mathematics and science curriculum programs that develop new ideas and skills based on earlier ones—from lesson to lesson, unit to unit, year to year. Anyone responsible for designing or influencing mathematics or science curriculum programs will find this guide valuable. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Helen F. Ladd A2 - Janet S. Hansen TI - Making Money Matter: Financing America's Schools SN - DO - 10.17226/9606 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9606/making-money-matter-financing-americas-schools PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education AB - The United States annually spends over $300 billion on public elementary and secondary education. As the nation enters the 21st century, it faces a major challenge: how best to tie this financial investment to the goal of high levels of achievement for all students. In addition, policymakers want assurance that education dollars are being raised and used in the most efficient and effective possible ways. The book covers such topics as: Legal and legislative efforts to reduce spending and achievement gaps. The shift from "equity" to "adequacy" as a new standard for determining fairness in education spending. The debate and the evidence over the productivity of American schools. Strategies for using school finance in support of broader reforms aimed at raising student achievement. This book contains a comprehensive review of the theory and practice of financing public schools by federal, state, and local governments in the United States. It distills the best available knowledge about the fairness and productivity of expenditures on education and assesses options for changing the finance system. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Helen F. Ladd A2 - Rosemary Chalk A2 - Janet S. Hansen TI - Equity and Adequacy in Education Finance: Issues and Perspectives SN - DO - 10.17226/6166 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6166/equity-and-adequacy-in-education-finance-issues-and-perspectives PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education AB - Spending on K-12 education across the United States and across local school districts has long been characterized by great disparities—disparities that reflect differences in property wealth and tax rates. For more than a quarter-century, reformers have attempted to reduce these differences through court challenges and legislative action. As part of a broad study of education finance, the committee commissioned eight papers examining the history and consequences of school finance reform undertaken in the name of equity and adequacy. This thought-provoking, timely collection of papers explores such topics as: What do the terms "equity" and "adequacy" in school finance really mean? How are these terms relevant to the politics and litigation of school finance reform? What is the impact of court-ordered school finance reform on spending disparities? How do school districts use money from finance reform? What policy options are available to states facing new challenges from court decisions mandating adequacy in school finance? When measuring adequacy, how do you consider differences in student needs and regional costs? ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders: Report, Workshop Summary, and Workshop Papers SN - DO - 10.17226/6431 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6431/work-related-musculoskeletal-disorders-report-workshop-summary-and-workshop-papers PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Industry and Labor KW - Health and Medicine KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences AB - Estimated costs associated with lost days and compensation claims related to musculoskeletal disorders—including back pains and repetitive motion injuries—range from $13 billion to $20 billion annually. This is a serious national problem that has spurred considerable debate about the causal links between such disorders and risk factors in the workplace. This book presents a preliminary assessment of what is known about the relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and what may cause them. It includes papers and a workshop summary of findings from orthopedic surgery, public health, occupational medicine, epidemiology, risk analysis, ergonomics, and human factors. Topics covered include the biological responses of tissues to stress, the biomechanics of work stressors, the epidemiology of physical work factors, and the contributions of individual, recreational, and social factors to such disorders. The book also considers the relative success of various workplace interventions for prevention and rehabilitation. ER - TY - BOOK TI - How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School DO - 10.17226/6160 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6160/how-people-learn-brain-mind-experience-and-school PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education AB - When do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do—with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methods—to help children learn most effectively? This book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to these and other questions. New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How People Learn examines these findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. Topics include: How learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain. How existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn. What the thought processes of experts tell us about how to teach. The amazing learning potential of infants. The relationship of classroom learning and everyday settings of community and workplace. Learning needs and opportunities for teachers. A realistic look at the role of technology in education. If education is to help students make sense of their surroundings and ready them for the challenges of the technology-driven, internationally competitive world, then it must be based on what we know about learning from science. In that light, this book will be of significant professional interest to teachers, education policymakers and administrators, and curriculum developers. ER -