About MCAS - Massachusetts Education Department site describing the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/about1.html
Alaska's High School Qualifying Examination - Beginning in 2002, Alaska students must pass an examination to graduate from high school. This site examines graduation testing and raises important questions. www.srv.net/~msdata/ahsqe.html
Bush Praises Local Districts' Use of TAAS for Promotion - Bush said he appreciates local school districts using the power of local control to address the problem of social promotions. Lubbock Online. lubbockonline.com/news/101997/016-8263.htm
Bush's 'Texas miracle' in schools? TAAS tells - Gains on TAAS are not paralleled in other measures of student achievement. Capitol Alert. www.capitolalert.com/voices/schrag/schrag_mar15-00.html
Division of Student Assessment - Texas Education Agency official site. Information on the TAAS and end-of-course examinations. www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment
Exploring Rapid Achievement Gains in Texas and North Carolina - Report written for the National Education Goals Panel investigating two states' higher rate of improvement on national tests throughout the 1990s. www.negp.gov/issues/publication/negpdocs/negprep/rpt%5Fgrissmer/grissmer%5F3.pdf
Lawmaker Wants TAAS Testing to Include Special Ed Students - A Houston legislator has filed a bill that would require all state school districts to include most special education students in the TAAS. Lubbock Online. www.lubbockonline.com/news/030597/lawmaker.htm
Mass Insight - Organization generally supportive of Massachusetts state testing. www.massinsight.org
Minority Groups Seek to Stop Achievement Testing - A key Texas case goes to trial as minority groups seek to stop a school reform trend. U.S.News & World Report. www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/990927/testing.htm
New York Cheating Teachers - NPR - Teacher and school evaluations are often tied to such test scores. RealAudio. search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnps05fm.cfm?SegID=67617
Ohio Proficiency Testing Examined - An examination of the results of Ohio's proficiency tests, finding a strong correlation with socioeconomic status. cc.ysu.edu/~rlhoover/ClassConnections/ProficiencyTests/proftestpg.html
TAAS Cheating - NPR - Several schools officials in Texas caught manipulating school testing data to improve their schools' rankings. Requires RealAudio player. search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnps05fm.cfm?SegID=110
Test Usage Information Links - Research, articles, and information about high stakes tests and their misuse from group opposing Virginia's Standards of Learning tests. home.rica.net/airedale/test_usage_information_links.htm
The Harmful Impact of the TAAS System of Testing in Texas - Summary of a qualitative research study conducted by two education professors in Texas. www.law.harvard.edu/groups/civilrights/conferences/testing98/drafts/mcneil_valenzuela.html
Virginia School Tests - NPR - The reaction in Virginia to the state's efforts to connect test scores to school accreditation. RealAudio. search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnps05fm.cfm?SegID=45627
What Do Test Scores in Texas Tell Us? - Rand Corporation's study of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test scores in Texas. Includes link to Rand Corp. press release and Rand CEO's statement. www.rand.org/publications/IP/IP202
