Thinking about Tests and Testing: A Short Primer in Assessment Literacy

This short primer is organized into three parts. Part I introduces some statistics that are essential to understanding the concepts and for talking intelligently about tests. Part II presents some fundamental terms of testing. Both Parts I and II deal with " what": what is a median, a percentile rank etc. Part III expands into discussions about testing issues, such as teaching to the test and SAT-related issues. Educational levels: Primary elementary, Intermediate elementary, Middle school, High school, Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division, Graduate or professional

Person-Fit Statistics: High Potential and Many Unanswered Questions

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High-Stakes Testing

American policymakers are turning to high-stakes tests to measure the performance of their schools. But fears that schools aren't measuring up aren't warranted by the data, and testing is actually hurting school curricula

The Market in Theory Meets the Market in Practice: The Case of Edison Schools

Edison Schools, Inc., promised it would reinvent education. As the country's largest for-profit education management organization (EMO), it offers a case study in how the industry is functioning. Bracey finds that the company's claims of improved school performance are not supported by objective data, and its political and fiscal maneuvers to win and retain contracts suggest that the demand for revenues overrides the needs of children. Bracey's report is based on research he conducted for his book, The War Against America's Public Schools: Parents' Edition, Allyn & Bacon (2002)

Charter Schools

Charter schools enthusiasts have offered the hope that they would offer immediate and major improvements in education. The actual outcomes have been much more modest. The first of three briefing papers on polics important to the Fall 2000 elections and beyond

No Child Left Behind: Where Does the Money Go?

This brief examines the inherent costs to states when implementing No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements and the costs to schools when they fail to meet NCLB achievement goals

Charter Schools' Performance and Accountability: A Disconnect

This comprehensive review of national and state charter school evaluations shows that charter schools are rarely held accountable and, in general, perform no better than traditional public schools

The Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education, 2009

This year’s Bracey Report identifies and discusses the research support for what the author considers to be three of the most important assumptions about how to reform public education: 1. High-quality schools can eliminate the achievement gap between whites and minorities. 2. Mayoral control of public schools is an improvement over the more common elected board governance systems. 3. Higher standards will improve the performance of public schools

City-wide Systems of Charter Schools: Proceed With Caution

The report analyzes the rationale and evidence in Creating a Network of Charter Schools in Buffalo, prepared by the Education Innovation Consortium (EIC) at the direction of the Buffalo School Board. The EIC's document supports the creation of the nation's first-ever district-wide network of charter schools and is available on their websit