NACAC Professional Tools: Standardized Admission Testing
College Admission Testing
Commissioned by NACAC and authored by Dr. Rebecca Zwick, this paper is intended to provide a concise summary of the history of standardized tests, the role of testing in undergraduate admission, and current research on the tests’ effectiveness in providing meaningful data to admission offices about applicant qualifications for postsecondary study. (2/07)
Mapping Educational Progress 2008
The U.S. Department of Education has posted data online about student achievement in reading and mathematics and high school graduation rates, as well as other accountability measures established under No Child Left Behind. Users may view data at both the national and state levels. (3/08)
AP Report to the Nation
The College Board’s fourth annual report highlighting Advanced Placement (AP) results across the nation shows that more than 15 percent of students in the 2007 graduating class scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam, up from 12 percent in 2002. The report also includes results by state and race/ethnicity. (2/08)
Highlights from PISA 2006: Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Science and Mathematics Literacy in an International Context
This report from the National Center for Education Statistics summarizes the performance of U.S. 15-year-old students on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006, comparing their science and mathematics literacy scores with their peers internationally. Results show that the average score for U.S. students in science literacy was lower than the average of other OECD countries (489 vs. 500). Compared to the 29 other OECD countries, the United States scored lower, on average, than 16 OECD countries, not significantly different from 8, and higher than 5. The U.S. average score in mathematics literacy (474) also was lower than the OECD average (498). U.S. students scored lower than their peers in 23 OECD countries, not significantly different from their peers in 2, and higher than their peers in 4. (1/08)
State Education Reforms (SER) Web site—Updated
The National Center for Education Statistics has added and updated tables to the State Education Reform (SER) Web site. In the Standards, Assessment and Accountability section, new information has been added on rewards and sanctions for states and high school graduation and work readiness policies. The Resources for Learning section has new data on high school course requirements for graduation and states’ capacity for technology use. (1/08)
How Should Colleges Assess and Improve Student Learning?: Employers’ Views on the Accountability Challenge
A survey commissioned by The Association of American Colleges and Universities highlights employers’ opinions of the work-readiness of recent college graduates and what they consider to be effective assessment tools. Results show that employers are satisfied that the majority of college graduates are prepared for success in entry-level positions but are less confident that they are prepared for advancement. According to the employers surveyed, the areas where recent graduates lag are in global knowledge, self-direction, and writing. Employers also indicate that they prefer assessments of real-world and applied-learning approaches, such as evaluations of supervised internships, community-based projects, and comprehensive senior projects, to multiple-choice tests of general content knowledge. (1/08)
The Nation’s Report Card: 2007 Trial Urban District Assessment in Mathematics and 2007 Trial Urban District Assessment in Reading
Results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Trial Urban District Assessment provide fourth- and eighth-grade scores in math and reading for eleven urban school districts. (11/07)
Understanding NAEP: Inside the Nation’s Education Report Card
This Education Sector Explainer discusses the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ (NAEP) origin and its expanding role, describes how the test is designed, how its scores are calculated and what those scores mean. It examines the controversies surrounding the reporting and use of NAEP data and the challenges facing the Nation's Report Card in a climate of increasing demands for more information on student achievement. (11/07)
The Proficiency Illusion
A new report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the Northwest Evaluation Association makes the case that tests that states use to measure academic progress under NCLB are creating a false impression of success, especially in reading and especially in the early grades. As a result, students may be performing worse than is readily apparent by looking at passing rates on state tests. (10/07)
The Nations Report Card: Math 2007
The Nations Report Card: Reading 2007
Results from the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments show that both fourth- and eighth-graders scored higher in math than in all previous assessment years. In addition, the white-black score gap narrowed at grade four when compared to 1990 and at grade 8 when compared to 2005. Reading assessments showed that fourth-graders scored higher than in all previous assessment years, while eighth-graders scored higher than in 2005 and 1992. Only the white-black gap at fourth-grade was smaller compared to 2005 and 1992. (10/07)
2007 College-Bound Seniors
The College Board has released its national and state SAT score reports for the class of 2007. Nearly 1.5 million students took the test. Nearly 40 percent of those test-takers were minority students and over half (54 percent) were female. The long term trend for critical reading scores has been essentially flat, while math scores have trended upward, which may be due to the increase in students who take precalculus and calculus. (9/07)
State Graduation Rate Goals for High School Accountability
A StateNote brief from Education Commission of the States examines each states' graduation rate target and the method it will use to calculate the state graduation rate to demonstrate adequate yearly progress under NCLB. (9/07)
2007 College-Bound Seniors
The College Board has released its national and state SAT score reports for the class of 2007. Nearly 1.5 million students took the test. Nearly 40 percent of those test-takers were minority students and over half (54 percent) were female. The long term trend for critical reading scores has been essentially flat, while math scores have trended upward, which may be due to the increase in students who take precalculus and calculus. (9/07)
The Nation’s Report Card: Economics 2006
The National Center for Education Statistics has released results of the first-ever NAEP assessment in economics in order to evaluate student knowledge. This knowledge was measured in three areas: market economy, national economy and international economy. Results indicated that 79 percent of students performed at or above the Basic level. Eighty-seven percent of students reported studying some economics in high school. (8/07)
High School Database: Exit Exams
An online database provided by Education Commission of the States provides information on state policies surrounding exit exams. Students in 26 states are required (or will be required) to pass an exit exam as a component of high school graduation requirements. (7/07)
Validity of High-School Grades in Predicting Student Success Beyond the Freshman Year: High School Record vs. Standardized Tests as Indicators of Four-Year College Outcomes
The Center for Studies in Higher Education at UC, Berkeley concludes that high school grades in college preparatory courses are the best predictors of first-year college grades, four-year graduation and cumulative college GPA. The authors also found that SAT scores added a small, but statistically significant, value in predicting college grades beyond high school grades and other factors known at the point of admission. However, the predictive value of all factors together was only 30 percent. In addition, the authors found that high school grades are much less closely associated with students’ socioeconomic characteristics. (7/07)
Closing the Expectations Gap 2007
Achieve's annual report outlines states’ efforts to align high school standards, graduation requirements, assessments, and accountability systems with the demands. (7/07)
Aligned Expectations: A Closer Look at College Admissions and Placement Tests
A study by Achieve analyzed more than 2,000 questions from college admission and placement exams to determine how well they measure the college and work readiness benchmarks created by its American Diploma Project (ADP). Results show that the content and rigor of the tests varies substantially and that they do not fully measure the knowledge and skills that are included in the ADP benchmarks. (7/07)
The Nation’s Report Card: U.S. History 2006 and The Nation’s Report Card: Civics 2006
Two reports from the National Center for Education Statistics present NAEP results for U.S. history and civics. Results of the history assessment indicate improvement for all students in fourth, eighth and twelfth grades. Civics scores improved for fourth-graders but are relatively unchanged since 1998 for eighth- and twelfth-graders. (7/07)
National Center on Educational Outcomes’ Data Viewer
The National Center on Educational Outcomes' Data Viewer allows users to view information related to students with disabilities and create individualized reports on specified criteria. Two major databases are currently available—State Policies on Assessment Participation and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities, and Annual Performance Reports. (6/07)
High School-Level Assessment
The Education Commission of the States’ High School Policy Center has released a database providing 50-state information on 10 indicators related to state-level high school assessments, including: subjects and grades tested, inclusion of college-ready measures, whether all students are required to take diagnostic exams, whether all students are required to take the ACT or SAT, and the purpose of the state's high school-level exam. (6/07)
Key State Education Policies on PK–12 Education: 2006
The Council of Chief State School Officers examines policies on time and attendance, early childhood education, graduation requirements, state content standards, teacher preparation and licensure, school leader/administrator licensure, and student assessment in a report. The report presents policy information for the 50 states and the District of Columbia as of Fall 2006. (6/07)
State Education Reforms (SER)
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has updated its website on state education reforms. The SER website compiles and disseminates data on state-level education reform efforts in four areas: 1) standards, assessment, and accountability; 2) school finance reforms; 3) resources for learning; and 4) state support for school choice options. Two new tables on exit exams have been added to the Standards, Assessment, and Accountability area and three new tables on longitudinal data systems, school exit exams, and kindergarten policies have been added to Resources for Learning area. (5/07)
Beyond NCLB: Fulfilling the Promise of Our Nation’s Children
The Commission on No Child Left Behind has released its final report, which outlines specific and actionable recommendations for improving NCLB and establishing a high-achieving education system. (3/07)
The Nation’s Report Card: 12th-Grade Reading and Mathematics 2005
This report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) provides national results on the performance of America’s high school seniors on NAEP. (2/07)
America’s High School Graduates: Results from the 2005 NAEP High School Transcript Study
This report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) presents information about the types of courses 2005 high school graduates completed, how many credits they earned, and the grades they received. Information on the relationships between high school academic records and performance on the NAEP mathematics and science assessments also is included. Highlights of the findings include:
- graduates in 2005 completed more rigorous curricula than previous graduates;
- overall GPA has been climbing since 1990 and was 2.98 in 2005; and graduates with stronger academic records obtain higher NAEP scores. (2/07)
The Nation's Report Card: Science 2005 Trial Urban District Assessment
Results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2005 science Trial Urban District Assessment were just released, comparing the performance of 4th and 8th graders in 10 large urban school districts. Performance of students in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Diego are compared with students nationally and in large central cities. Performance of racial/ethnic groups in the districts is examined, as is the performance of low-income students. (12/06)
How Well are American Students Learning?
A new Brookings Institution report examines progress in U.S. students’ math and reading learning based on the latest NAEP data, and considers why NAEP and state tests paint different pictures. The report also looks at how students’ self-confidence and enjoyment of math are related to achievement. (11/06)