The number of states with mandated student-assessment programs jumped from 29 in 1980 to 46 in 1992, according to a new report.
“Assessment is a major lever for systemic school reform, and each state gives it a different face,’' Dena G. Stoner, the executive director of the Council for Educational Development and Research, or CEDAR, said in releasing the study last month. The council, along with the National Education Association, produced the 52-page report.
Besides documenting the increased number of statewide student-testing programs, the report profiles states that use assessment as part of a more comprehensive school-reform effort. They are: California, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Texas, and Vermont.
“Surveying the Landscape of State Educational Assessment Programs’’ is available for $5 from CEDAR, 2000 L St., N.W., Suite 601, Washington, D.C. 20036.
