Title: Testing: Frequently Asked Questions
Headings: U.S. Department of Education
NCLB STRONGER ACCOUNTABILITY
Content: and identify weaknesses to be targeted? Do programs and curricula follow state content standards defining what students should know and be able to do in a given subject, at a given grade level? How is the school using test data to guide decisions about teaching and learning (e.g., how do those data influence professional development, tutoring, and selection of materials)? Is there a schoolwide plan that uses testing to evaluate performance, determine areas of strengths and weaknesses in instruction and respond to targeted needs of students? Have test data revealed weaknesses at the school (e.g., low math scores in the fifth and sixth grades)? What are the teachers and principal doing to assess such problems and address them? These are important questions for parents to ask about how their child's school is using testing and the data obtained from it. TOP
12. What about the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)? Since 1969, NAEP has been the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what American students know and can do in major academic subjects.