DOCUMENT RESUME ED 439 151 TM 030 688 AUTHOR Heubert, Jay P., Ed.; Hauser, Robert M., Ed. TITLE High Stakes: Testing for Tracking, Promotion, and Graduation. INSTITUTION National Academy of Sciences National Research Council, Washington, DC. SPONS AGENCY Department of Education, Washington, DC. ISBN ISBN-0-309-06280-2 PUB DATE 1999-00-00 NOTE 346p. CONTRACT ED -98 -CO -0005 AVAILABLE FROM National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20418 ($39.95 plus $4.50 for first copy, $0.95 for each additional copy). Tel: 888-624-8442 (Toll Free); Tel: 202-334-3313; Fax: 202-334-2451. For full text: http://www.nap.edu. PUB TYPE Books (010)-- Reports Evaluative (142) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC14 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Achievement Tests; Decision Making; Elementary Secondary Education; *High Stakes Tests; National Competency Tests; Political Influences; Social Influences; *Standardized Tests; *Student Evaluation; *Test Use; Validity ABSTRACT This study looks at how testing affects critical decisions for U.S. students, focusing on the impact of testing on individual students. It examines common misuses of tests, their political and social contexts, what happens when test issues are taken to court, special student populations, social promotion, and other issues of current interest. The Committee on Appropriate Test Use of the Board on Testing and Assessment of the National Research Council adopted three principal criteria for determining whether test use is appropriate. Measurement validity, attribution of cause, and effectiveness of treatment are the criteria on which the basic principles of appropriate test use lie. The chapters of this report are: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Assessment Policy and Politics"; (3) "Legal Frameworks"; (4) "Tests as Measurement"; (5) "Tracking"; (6) "Promotion and Retention"; (7) "Awarding or Withholding High School Diplomas"; (8) "Students with Disabilities"; (9) "English-Language Learners"; (10) "Use of Voluntary National Test Scores for Tracking, Promotion, or Graduation Decisions"; (11) "Potential Strategies for Promoting Appropriate Test Use"; and (12) "Findings and Recommendations." Each chapter contains references.(SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. TESTING FOR TRACKING, PROMOTION, AND U.. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Ofh of Educational Research and Improvement GRADUATION ED ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization BEST COPY AVAILABLE originating it. Minor changes have been made to 'improve reproduction quality. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. High Stakes TESTING FOR TRACKING, PROMOTION, AND GRADUATION Jay P. Heubert and Robert M. Hauser, Editors Committee on Appropriate Test Use Board on Testing and Assessment Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1999 NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Insti- tute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. The study was supported by Contract/Grant No. ED -98 -CO -0005 between the Na- tional Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Education. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data High stakes : testing for tracking, promotion, and graduation / Jay P. Heubert and Robert M. Hauser, editors ; Committee on Appropriate Test Use. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-309-06280-2 (pbk.) 1. Educational tests and measurementsUnited States. 2. Educational accountabilityUnited States. 3. Education and stateUnited States. I. Heubert, Jay Philip. II. Hauser, Robert Mason. III. National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Appropriate Test Use. LB3051 .H475 1999 371.26'0973dc21 98-40215 Additional copies of this report are available from National Academy Press, 2101 Consti- tution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418 Call (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area) This report is also available on line at http://www.nap.edu Printed in the United States of America Copyright 1999 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. First Printing, December 1998 Second Printing, December 1999 COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATE TEST USE ROBERT M. HAUSER (Chair), Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison LIZANNE DeSTEFANO, Department of Education, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign PASQUALE J. DeVITO, Office of Assessment and Information Services, Rhode Island Department of Education, Providence RICHARD P. DURAN, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Santa Barbara JENNIFER L. HOCHSCHILD, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University STEPHEN P. KLEIN, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica SHARON LEWIS, Council of the Great City Schools, Washington, D.C. LORRAINE M. McDONNELL, Department of Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara SAMUEL MESSICK, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey ULRIC NEISSER, Department of Psychology, Cornell University ANDREW C. PORTER, Wisconsin Center for Educational Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison AUDREY L. QUALLS, Iowa Testing Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City PAUL R. SACKETT, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis CATHERINE E. SNOW, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University WILLIAM T. TRENT, Department of Educational Policy Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign ROBERT L. LINN, ex officio, Board on Testing and Assessment; School of Education, University of Colorado, Boulder JAY P. HEUBERT, Study Director MICHAEL J. FEUER, Director, Board on Testing and Assessment PATRICIA MORISON, Senior Program Officer NAOMI CHUDOWSKY, Senior Program Officer ALLISON M. BLACK, Research Associate MARGUERITE CLARKE, Technical Consultant EDWARD MILLER, Editorial Consultant VIOLA C. HOREK, Administrative Associate KIMBERLY D. SALDIN, Senior Project Assistant BOARD ON TESTING AND ASSESSMENT ROBERT L. LINN (Chair), School of Education, University of Colorado, Boulder CARL F. KAESTLE (Vice Chair), Department of Education, Brown University RICHARD C. ATKINSON, President, University of California IRALINE BARNES, The Superior Court of the District of Columbia PAUL J. BLACK, School of Education, King's College, London RICHARD P. DURAN, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Santa Barbara CHRISTOPHER F. EDLEY, JR., Harvard Law School, Harvard University PAUL W. HOLLAND, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley MICHAEL W. KIRST, School of Education, Stanford University ALAN M. LESGOLD, Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh LORRAINE McDONNELL, Department of Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara KENNETH PEARLMAN, Lucent Technologies, Inc., Warren, New Jersey PAUL R. SACKETT, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis RICHARD J. SHAVELSON, School of Education, Stanford University CATHERINE E. SNOW, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University WILLIAM L. TAYLOR, Attorney at Law, Washington, D.C. WILLIAM T. TRENT, Associate Chancellor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign JACK WHALEN, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Palo Alto, California KENNETH I. WOLPIN, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania MICHAEL J. FEUER, Director VIOLA C. HOREK, Administrative Associate iv President Clinton's 1997 proposal to create voluntary national tests in reading and mathematics catapulted testing to the top of the national education agenda. The proposal turned up the volume on what had already been a contentious debate and drew intense scrutiny from a wide range of educators, parents, policy makers, and social scientists. Recog- nizing the important role science could play in sorting through the pas- sionate and often heated exchanges in the testing debate, Congress and the Clinton administration asked the National Research Council, through its Board on Testing and Assessment (BOTA), to conduct three fast-track studies over a 10-month period. This report and its companionsUncommon Measures: Equivalence and Linkage Among Educational Tests and Evaluation of the Voluntary Na- tional Tests: Phase 1are the result of truly heroic efforts on the part of the BOTA members, the study committee chairs and members, two co- principal investigators, consultants, and staff, who all understood the urgency of the mission and rose to the challenge of a unique and daunting timeline. Michael Feuer, BOTA director, deserves the special thanks of the board for keeping the effort on track and shepherding the report through the review process. His dedicated effort, long hours, sage advice, and good humor were essential to the success of this effort.Robert Hauser deserves our deepest appreciation for his superb leadership of the committee