Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests, Year 2

by National Research Council, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Board on Testing and Assessment, Committee on the Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests, Year 2

1999 · National Academies Press

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.

Reauthorization of the National Assessment of Educational Progress and National Assessment Governing Board

by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Education and the Workforce. Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth, and Families

1998

A hearing was held on the re-authorization of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). Mary R. Blanton, Vice Chair of the NAGB, spoke about its mission and plans for design changes under the re-authorization. She also outlined the role of the NAGB in overseeing the voluntary national test and discussed state-based competency measures. Michael F. Ward, North Carolina Superintendent of Schools, represented the Council of Chief State School Officers as he spoke on the importance of the NAEP and the NAGB. As a representative of commercial test publishers, Larry Snowhite of Riverside addressed several key issues regarding the re-authorization of the NAEP. Martha Schwartz, representative of a grass-roots organization focusing on mathematics education, urged the inclusion of content-based learning standards with a reliable test to match the standards. Christopher Klicka, Executive Director of the Home School Legal Defense Association, expressed concerns that expansion of the roles of the NAEP and NAGB would lead to increased nationalization of education standards and testing. Ambrosio E. Rodriguez , of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, also testified about the importance of high standards. Nine appendixes contain the written statements of these witnesses and remarks from two congressmen. (SLD)