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EDUCATION: ASSESSMENT & TESTING
These sites have a variety of educational
assessment issues including testing, outcomes assessment (primarily, but not exclusively
for higher education), educational performance standards at the national and state
levels. Resources include "gateways," directories, testing resources, academic library
pathfinders/resource guides, clearinghouses, and state departments of education. All
sites are free-of-charge.
Awesome
Library: Teacher/Assessment Information
• Maintained by Dr. R. Jerry Adams and the Evaluation
and Development Institute (EDI)
• Links to over 70 sites for assessment, standards,
and statistics for national and state levels
• Includes sites for assessment of specific disciplines,
testing on the state level, professional organizations, "No Child Left Behind Act,"
development of standards, program accreditation and evaluation, resources for K-12
• Annotations accompany some links
• Does an admirable job of selecting authoritative/representative
assessment sites; especially useful for resources on states' educational standards
Consortium for Policy Research in Education
(CPRE)
• CPRE "... unites researchers from ... the University
of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, Stanford University, the University of Michigan,
and the University of Wisconsin-Madison ... in an effort to improve elementary and
secondary education through practical research"
• Conducts research projects on a variety of educational
policy issues
• "Publications" highlights CPRE's policy briefs/bulletins,
reports, case studies, journal articles; most of these may be downloaded on .pdf
• "Assessment and Accountability Systems: 50 State
Profiles" reports on the status of assessment/accountability programs; most of the
reports are based on data provided by states' departments of education; many are
extensive and are an excellent source for measuring the progress of states' efforts
in these areas
• "State Profiles" include the following: "State
Assessment System," "Inclusion Policies for Assessment," "Performance Standards,"
"Reporting Performance Data," "State Accountability System," "Identifying and Assisting
Low-Performing Schools and Districts," "Title I and Adequate Yearly Progress"
• Also includes information about CPRE's policies/programs,
conferences/events, news; electronic newsletter available
• Excellent resource for researching educational
policy issues; for the purposes of this guide, its section on assessment/accountability
is of great value for anyone researching these topics at the state level
Educational & Psychological
Tests
• Maintained by Ellen Cronk, Rush Rees Library, University
of Rochester
• Guide to print resources on testing in the Rush
Rees Library
• Topics examined include the follow: "Background
and Issues in Testing," "Evaluation Guidelines," "Test Reviews, Validity, and Reliability,"
"To Identify Tests on a Particular Topic"
• Annotations accompany most citations for print
resources
• Print resources examined here should be available
in many academic libraries or large public libraries
• Not extensive, but a great place for an introduction
to "the basics"
Educational Research
and Evaluation
• Maintained by Ohio University Library
• This pathfinder offers suggestions for locating
assessment/evaluation resources in the Alden Library
• Discusses print resources and abstracts/indexes
available in the library; these may be found in many academic libraries or large
public libraries
• Also includes a short list of journals with significant
assessment/evaluation content; links to associations, clearinghouses, additional
sites
• Not extensive, but a very good introduction to
basic resources for this topic
FairTest: The National Center for Fair & Open Testing
• "An advocacy organization working to end the abuses,
misuses and flaws of standardized testing and ensure that evaluation of students
and workers is fair, open, and educationally sound; ... special emphasis on eliminating
the racial, class, gender and cultural barriers to equal opportunity"
• Analyzes/assesses testing policies for K-12, national
testing, university testing and employment testing
• Links to reports, "fact sheets" and other websites
concerned with equity/fairness in testing
• "Assessment Reform Network" serves as a clearinghouse
for "parents, teachers, students and others" interesting in airing ideas and exchanging
views on testing reform
• Updated frequently
• Also provides information on FairTest's policies,
projects and publications
• Excellent; one of the best sites for equity/fairness
issues on levels of educational (and employment) testing
FAQ/Finding Information
About Psychological Tests
• Sponsored by the Science Directorate of the American
Psychological Association (APA)
• This guide offers suggestions for strategies and
explains procedures for locating information on psychological tests (published and
unpublished)
• "APA neither sells nor endorses testing instruments"
• Includes a brief description of some of the major
print resources for this topic
• Not extensive, but very useful for anyone needing
guidance on locating and evaluating psychological tests
Internet Resources for
Higher Education Outcomes Assessment
• Maintained by Ephraim Schechter for University
Planning & Analysis, N.C. State University
• This directory links to 6 categories dealing with
various aspects of outcomes assessment in higher education
• Best feature is "Individual institution assessment-related
pages," which links to over 220 college/university pages for outcomes assessment
• "General Resources" links to over 70 sites for
forums, discussion lists, archived articles, "lists of links," glossaries, journals,
professional organizations, surveys
• Also links to categories for "Assessment Handbooks,"
"Assessment of specific skills or content," "Accrediting bodies," "Student assessment
of courses & faculty"
• Excellent annotations accompany almost every site
(especially useful for institution-specific pages)
• Outstanding; this one of the best – if not
the best – sites for links to policies/procedures/resources for outcomes assessment;
comprehensive, easy-to-navigate and mandatory for anyone conducting research in
this area
Measuring
Up: The State-by-State Report Card for Higher Education (2002)
• Sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy
and Higher Education
• "Measuring Up 2002 is the second in a series of
biennial, state-by-state ; it "... provides state leaders, policy makers, researchers
and others" with a tool to analyze a state's performance in higher education in
6 categories: preparation, participation, affordability, completion, benefits, learning
• "State at a Glance" and "State Profiles" provide
ranking in the 6 performance categories, with grading from A to F
• "National Picture" allows a state's performance
to be compared against national standards for each category
• "Compare States" allows users to utilize a "State
Data Comparison System" to compare two (or more) states' performance in the 6 categories
(or, if desired, by sub-categories)
• Also includes articles, reports and "How We Grade
States and How We Measure Improvement"
• Excellent; one of the best sites for interactive
information on performance status of states' systems of higher education
National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP)
• Sponsored by the National Center for Educational
Statistics (NCES), in conjunction with the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB),
"a bipartisan group whose members include governors, state legislators, local and
state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the
general public"
• Also known as "The Nation's Report Card," the NAEP
"... is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's
students know and can do in various subject areas," including mathematics, reading,
science and writing
• NAEP includes commentary/statistics regarding both
national and state assessments on the progress of both public and non-public school
students at grades 4, 8, 12
• "State Profiles" contains statistical data on a
state's "Student Characteristics," "School/District Characteristics," "Racial/Ethnic
Background"; includes statistics relating to state's performance level on the 4
core-group subject areas (mathematics, reading, science and writing) compared to
national figures
• "More Information" provides background on NAEP's
methodology and related material explaining the site's development
• Also links to additional surveys conducted by NCES
for early childhood education, elementary/secondary education, postsecondary education,
international educational comparisons, libraries
• Excellent; one of the best sources for comprehensive
data on K-12 student performance for critical subject areas
National Center on Educational Outcomes
(NCEO)
• "NCEO is an affiliated center of the Institute
on Community Integration, located within the College of Education and Human Development
at the University of Minnesota"
• This organization is concerned with educational
outcomes issues for all students, with special emphasis on disabled students
• "Resources" outline's NCEO's activities in helping
"... state personnel, educators, parents and others" develop programs, policies,
and other resources for their efforts to create assessment/outcomes
• "Related Web Sites" links to additional disability
resources, government agencies (federal and regional), professional educational
associations, organizations
• Includes an "Online Accommodations Bibliography"
• The site's most useful feature is its excellent
"Online Publications" (over 140) which report on a wide variety of assessment/outcomes
issues; these have been produced by NCEO or other professional educational associations/organizations
• Outstanding; one of the best sites – if not
the best - for assessment outcomes issues; its reports and concentration on disabilities
make this a mandatory site for anyone researching these issues
National Clearinghouse for
Comprehensive School Reform (NCCSR)
• "A Partnership of The George Washington University, Council of
Education, Institute for Educational Leadership"
• "Mission: NCCRS collects and disseminates information that builds
the capacity of schools to raise the academic achievement of all students"
• "Funded by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education of
the U.S. Department of Education"
• This venture – a non-profit/federal organization –
encourages the implementation of broad-based school reform
• "Step by Step – an online collection of select tools and
resources designed to aid schools as they plan, implement, and sustain
schoolwide reform programs" – offers advice and resource materials
("nine essential ‘steps'") to practitioners involved in school reform
initiatives
• "CRS Models" – "replicable, externally developed approaches
to school improvement" – link to over 50 online models which have
implemented reforms successfully; searchable by model type, grade level,
"special populations"
• "Resources" provide annotated links to government agencies (federal/state),
foundations, clearinghouses, professional organizations
• Also provides information on NCCSR publications (e-mail/print newsletters,
research/policy reports)
• Outstanding; one of the best sites for broad-based, practical information
on analyzing and implementing school reform
Resources for
Psychological and Educational Tests and Measurements
• Created by Joy Cichewicz and maintained by Social Work Library, University of Michigan
• This pathfinder discusses databases, reference
print resources and microfiche resources on tests/measurements
• Most of the print resources may be found in many
academic libraries or large public libraries
• Database resources are restricted to the University
of Michigan academic community; they may be available in many academic libraries
or large public libraries
• Not extensive, but this site does an excellent
job of discussing the content/uses of some of the foremost print resources for testing;
very useful for the novice researcher
Students Against Testing (SAT)
• "Mission Statement: SAT is a nationwide network
of young people who resist high stakes standardized testing and support real-life
learning"
• Links to activist sites for the following: "Action
Gallery," "Reading/Research," "Discussion Boards"
• Also links to "State-by-State Activist Groups,"
"Educational Organizations," "Testing Related Industries and Organizations"
• This site's very useful for discussing/examining
anti-testing arguments
Tests and Measurements: Research
Guide
• Maintained by Deborah Lee, Mitchell Memorial Library,
Mississippi State University Libraries
• Guide to utilizing library's print resources, databases
and locating web resources
• Discusses reference print resources available in
the library and suggests search strategies for locating additional information;
also lists journals of interest
• Print resources discussed here should be available
in many academic libraries or large public libraries
• Database resources are restricted to the Mississippi
State University academic community; many should be available in academic libraries
or large public libraries
• Links to instructions for "Citing Sources"
• Excellent; does a noteworthy job of covering "the
basics" for users; very useful for beginning research
Tests and Testing Information
• Maintained by Kate Corby, Michigan State University
Libraries
• A directory of Internet, print and database resources,
this guide covers many of the most authoritative resources in testing and assessment
• "Web Resources" links to annotated sites for the
location of specific "instruments," professional associations, commercial testing
sites, educational testing sites, additional assessment-related documents
• Print resources should be available in many academic
libraries and large public libraries
• Databases are restricted to the Michigan State
University academic community; they should be available in many academic libraries
and large public libraries
• Excellent; easy-to-navigate and a great place for
an overview this subject area
Websites discussed on this page are for informational purposes only. Johnson & Wales University
Library is not responsible for the accuracy, content, or stability of any websites linked to this page.
Compiled by Rick Keogh,
3/04; links last checked 12/07
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