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The Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) is the standardized testing program used in public schools in Tennessee. Tennessee schools administer a comprehensive exam to their students at the end of each school year beginning in the third grade. Tests are intended to reflect what each child learned in the past year of school. The tested areas include reading, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The TCAP currently includes the Achievement Test (grades 3–8), the Writing Test, the Competency Test, the Gateway Tests, and the End of Course Tests. The scores are returned at the beginning of the next school year and these scores help schools make instructional decisions. Special education and limited-English proficiency students are included in the testing and may be accommodated with modifications.
Tennessee has used TCAP tests since 1989–90. In 2010, a linking study was performed so that the TCAP could report out Lexile measures for students in grades 3-8 and 10. [1] A Lexile measure can be used to match readers with targeted text and monitor growth in reading ability. This Test was discontinued in the 2015–2016 school year because a private company developed the TNReady tests. TNReady was unsuccessful during the first school year because the company failed to provide testing materials to all students who were supposed to take the test, and testing in the 2015–2016 school year for Tennessee was canceled due to this. In the following school year, the state still used TNReady, but in paper form instead of electronic. The TNReady test was administered to all subjects above, except for science, which continued to be TNReady until the 2018–2019 school year.
Soon after this unsuccessful attempt, TNReady tried again with electronic testing during the 2017–2018 school year. Contrary to the previous time, the system didn't discontinue; however, there was much lagging and several times where a student couldn't submit a test, delaying testing a week and a half past the previous end time.
The paper test is administered with two different tests, given out to every other student so as to prevent cheating. Each test has multiple subparts. Language Arts has four subparts. The first is an essay based test, which is randomly selected to be either narrative, explanatory, or argumentative. The time allowed on this is 85 minutes. The second and third subparts are reading and vocabulary comprehension. The fourth subpart is grammar and mechanics, based similar to the SAT's style of this.
Extra time can be allowed for children with specialized education plans, also including 504 and IEP students. The test times are extended, for most cases, the regular test time + 50%.
The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or the FCAT/FCAT 2.0, was the standardized test used in the primary and secondary public schools of Florida. First administered statewide in 1998, it replaced the State Student Assessment Test (SSAT) and the High School Competency Test (HSCT). As of the 2014-2015 school year FCAT was replaced in the state of Florida. The Florida Department of Education later implemented the Florida Standards Assessments (FSA) for English Language Arts, Reading, Mathematics and a Writing or typing test. A Comprehensive science test is still used for grades 5 and 8.
The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) was the fourth Texas state standardized test previously used in grade 3-8 and grade 9-11 to assess students' attainment of reading, writing, math, science, and social studies skills required under Texas education standards. It is developed and scored by Pearson Educational Measurement with close supervision by the Texas Education Agency. Though created before the No Child Left Behind Act was passed, it complied with the law. It replaced the previous test, called the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), in 2002.
Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) was a standardized test administered by the state of Arizona. AIMS was a standards-based assessment aligned with the Arizona Academic Content Standards. In November 2014, the Arizona State Board of Education voted to replace AIMS with a new test called AzMERIT (Arizona's Measurement of Educational Readiness to Inform Teaching).
In New York State, Regents Examinations are statewide standardized examinations in core high school subjects. Students are required to pass these exams to earn a Regents Diploma. To graduate, students are required to have earned appropriate credits in a number of specific subjects by passing year-long or half-year courses, after which they must pass at least five Regents examinations in some of the subject areas. For higher-achieving students, a Regents with Advanced designation and an Honors designation are also offered. Students with disabilities or enrolled in an English as a Second Language program are able to earn a local diploma.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what U.S. students know and can do in various subjects. NAEP is a congressionally mandated project administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. The first national administration of NAEP occurred in 1969. The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) is an independent, bipartisan board that sets policy for NAEP and is responsible for developing the framework and test specifications.The National Assessment Governing Board, whose members are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education, includes governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the general public. Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in 1988.
The Standards of Learning (SOL) is a public school standardized testing program in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It sets forth learning and achievement expectations for core subjects for grades K-12 in Virginia's Public Schools. The standards represent what many teachers, school administrators, parents, and business and community leaders believe schools should teach and students should learn. The Virginia Department of Education, schools, and school systems routinely receive essential feedback on the effectiveness of implementation and address effective instructional strategies and best practices. The Standards of Learning is supportive of and a direct response to the No Child Left Behind Act, which was signed into law by then-President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002. They address student achievement in four critical areas: (1) English, (2) mathematics, (3) science, and (4) history/social studies. Students are assessed in English and mathematics in grades 3-8 and upon completion of certain high school level courses. Science and history SOL are administered in grades 4, 5, and 8 and at the end of completing high school courses in these respective subjects.
The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), known until February 2014 as the Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress (MAPP), measures the performance of students undergoing primary and secondary education in California. In October 2013, it replaced the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program.
The IEA's Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international study of reading (comprehension) achievement in 9-10 year olds. It has been conducted every five years since 2001 by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). It is designed to measure children's reading literacy achievement, to provide a baseline for future studies of trends in achievement, and to gather information about children's home and school experiences in learning to read.
The New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) was a standardized test given to all New Jersey public-schooled students in grades 3-8 during (usually) March, April, or May, and was administered by the New Jersey Department of Education.
The Georgia High School Graduation Test, or GHSGT, was administered to all students in the eleventh grade in the US state of Georgia from 1991 to 2013. It determined whether or not a student was eligible to graduate from a Georgia high school.
The Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) measured individual student achievement based on the Illinois Learning Standards. Results of this score were applied to the No Child Left Behind Act, to identify failing schools. The ISAT was retired as a state assessment tool. The ISAT was last administered in the 2013–2014 school year.
The Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) were a set of tests administered at public schools in the state of Georgia that are designed to test the knowledge of first through eighth graders in reading, English/language arts (ELA), and mathematics, and third through eighth graders additionally in science and social studies.
The Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests are standards-aligned tests designed to meet NCLB requirements. The following tests are administered:
The Palmetto Assessment of State Standards is a United States standards-aligned test designed to meet No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements taken by students in the state of South Carolina. It is administered in grades 3–8 in writing, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.
The West Virginia Educational Standards Test (WESTEST) is a criterion-referenced test measured student's knowledge of the West Virginia Content Standards. It is designed to meet NCLB requirements. Tests are administered in Science, Social Studies, Mathematics, and Reading/Language Arts in grades 3-11.
The Lexile Framework for Reading is an educational tool that uses a measure called a Lexile to match readers with books, articles and other leveled reading resources. Readers and books are assigned a score on the Lexile scale, in which lower scores reflect easier readability for books and lower reading ability for readers. The Lexile framework uses quantitative methods, based on individual words and sentence lengths, rather than qualitative analysis of content to produce scores. Accordingly, the scores for texts do not reflect factors such as multiple levels of meaning or maturity of themes. Hence, the United States Common Core State Standards recommend the use of alternative, qualitative methods for selecting books for students at grade 6 and over. In the US, Lexile measures are reported from reading programs and assessments annually. Thus, about half of U.S. students in grades 3rd through 12th receive a Lexile measure each year. In addition to being used in schools in all 50 states, Lexile measures are also used outside of the United States.
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a consortium featuring two states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Educational Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education, that work to create and deploy a standard set of K–12 assessments in Mathematics and English, based on the Common Core State Standards.
Kevin S. Huffman is an American lawyer and education administrator who was the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education. He was appointed to the position by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and served from April 2011 to January 2015. Prior to his work at the Tennessee Department of Education, Huffman held a senior management position in Teach for America and had worked as an attorney specializing in education.
Measurement Incorporated is an educational testing company based in Durham, North Carolina. The company was founded in 1980 by Dr. Henry Scherich. Measurement Incorporated currently administers state-wide standardized tests for Arizona, California, Michigan, and Washington State. Measurement Incorporated also administers the Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE) for the Educational Records Bureau.