Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse
This site supports adult educators in their efforts to develop, align, and implement content standards in English language acquisition (ELA), mathematics, and reading.

Adventures in Assessment
For 14 years (1991-2004), Adventures in Assessment provided a forum for adult literacy practitioners to critically reflect upon a range of issues and experiences pertaining to assessment, both alternative assessment early on and, later, standardized assessment. Search the 16 volumes at the site by using the search tool in the upper right-hand corner, or browse through each volume.

CAELA: ESL Resources (Center for Adult English Language Acquisition)
CAELA's Resource Collection brings together information and resources on topics of interest to those working in the field of adult ESL. The purpose of the collection is to provide a starting point for exploration--an overview of the reports, articles, organizations, and other resources that are currently available on specific topics.

CAL Resource Guides On Line: Resources for ESL Assessment
This site includes information on digests, books, websites, email discussion groups, and ERIC documents.

EFF Assessment Resource Collection
The EFF Assessment Resource Collection (ARC) contains resources for the adult literacy field to align curriculum, instruction, assessment and reporting with the EFF Content Standards.

Equipped for the Future Special Collection
The Equipped for the Future Special Collection brings EFF related resources and expertise to a single point of access for multiple users working in adult and family literacy education. The collection includes materials developed by EFF partners and other quality materials relevant to standards-based education and program improvement.

LINCS Special Collection in Assessment
The Assessment Special Collection provides access to quality on-line resources to practitioners and administrators dealing with learner assessment issues in adult literacy programs.

SABES Assessment Support Website
This Web site has been designed to help program managers, teachers, and other practitioners deal effectively with the learning gain assessment and reporting requirements in DOE-funded ABE programs in Massachusetts.

SABES Bibliography - Assessment and Evaluation
From the Assessment Support Website: http://www.sabes.org/assessment/assessmentbib.htm

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Evaluation

American Evaluation Association
Devoted to the application and exploration of evaluation in all its forms.

Baldrige National Quality Program - National Institute of Standards and Technology
Malcolm Baldrige was a proponent of quality management as a key to this country's prosperity and long-term strength. The Baldrige Award is given by the President of the United States to businesses, education and health care organizations that apply and are judged to be outstanding in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and results.

The Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation
This has program, personnel, and student standards, as well as a listing of related publications.

Project Star
Project STAR, a Corporation for National and Community Service sponsored technical assistance provider in performance measurement, is available to assist National Service programs with measuring performance. The manual is focused on outcome-based evaluation.

United Way Outcome Measurement Resource Network
The Resource Network offers information, downloadable documents, and links to resources related to the identification and measurement of program- and community-level outcomes.

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Higher Education

American Council on Education
ACE, the major coordinating body for all the nation's higher education institutions, seeks to provide leadership and a unifying voice on key higher education issues and to influence public policy through advocacy, research, and program initiatives.

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International Resources

Asia-Pacific Literacy Database
Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) is a non-profit organisation established in 1971 in Tokyo, Japan. Its mission is to work toward mutual understanding and cultural cooperation in Asia and the Pacific, in the fields of culture, book development, and literacy promotion. Programs of ACCU include providing financial and technical support for supporting ACCU's non-formal and continuing education programmes and activities for eliminating wide spread illiteracy and ignorance. ACCU has been establishing Literacy Resource Centres for Girls and Women in Asia and the Pacific since 1994. Free and for-purchase publications are available from ACCU.

Australia: National Reporting System
The NRS is based on five levels of competence, each level signifying an increase in the complexity of the language, literacy and numeracy involved, the broadening of contexts in which these skills are used, and the increasing independence with which a person tackles a range of tasks. The NRS identifies five distinct skill areas: reading, writing, oral communication, learning strategies and numeracy, as well as what a person could be expected to do at each level, grouped into six different aspects of communication.

Australia: Queensland Studies Authority (P-12)
The Queensland Studies Authority provides P to 12 syllabuses, assessment, reporting, testing, accreditation and certification services for Queensland schools.

Canada: Canadian Language Benchmarks (ESL)
The Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) are the national standard used in Canada for describing, measuring and recognizing the second language proficiency of adult immigrants and prospective immigrants for living and working in Canada. The Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB) promotes and supports the recognition and use of the CLB as a practical, fair and reliable national standard of second language proficiency in educational, training, community and workplace settings.

Canada: National Adult Literacy Database
NALD is Canada's Adult Literacy Resource Network. This site has a wealth of information including literacy contacts and discussion groups, an excellent research and learning library, links to other websites and resources, and tools developed by NALD in partnership with other organizations. Search the NALD Library for resources on assessment.

International Reading Association
IRA was founded in 1956 as a professional organization for those involved in teaching reading to learners of all ages. Members are dedicated to promoting high levels of literacy for all by improving the quality of reading instruction, disseminating research and information about reading, and encouraging the lifetime reading habit. Use the search button to find a wealth of information on assessment in reading at all ages and for family literacy as well.

New Zealand: Adult Foundation Learning (Ministry of Education)
Here you will find all newsletters and research reports produced relating to adult literacy, numeracy and language.

New Zealand: Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning (K-12)
asTTle stands for Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning. It is an educational resource for assessing literacy and numeracy (in both English and M?ori) developed for the Ministry of Education by the University of Auckland. asTTle provides teachers, students, and parents with information about a student's level of achievement, relative to the curriculum achievement outcomes, for levels 2 to 6 and national norms of performance for students in years 4 to 12.

New Zealand: Key Competencies & Draft Descriptive Standards (Ministry of Education)
Key competencies are the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed by everyone across a variety of life contexts. It is hoped that the Key Competencies discussion document will generate reflection on core areas for learning in tertiary education programmes and qualifications and the implications of this for teaching and assessment. It is also hoped that government agencies will be able to use the framework in policy and operational work to achieve consistency about desirable learning outcomes across the school and tertiary education sectors. The draft of Descriptive Standards has been developed for reading, writing, listening, speaking and mathematics. These are outcome descriptions of adult competency in language, literacy and numeracy. They are `context free'.

New Zealand: Te Kete Ipurangi The Online Learning Centre (K-12; Adults)
TKI is a bilingual (English and M?ori) portal-plus web community which provides quality assured educational material for teachers, school managers, and the wider education community. It is an initiative of the Ministry of Education. Much of the material here is relevant to working with adults. See the Assessment Community at http://www.tki.org.nz/r/assessment/index_e.php Here you will find information about all aspects of assessment, including research and readings, online workshops, new assessment tools and resources. There are also links to other organisations.

Scotland: AifL = Assessment is for Learning (Learning and Teaching Scotland, K-12)
AifL is a national initiative with representation from all parts of the Scottish education community. There are three main concept areas: Assessment FOR Learning - supporting classroom learning and teaching; Assessment AS Learning - learning how to learn; Assessment OF Learning - gathering and interpreting the evidence. This toolkit is aimed primarily at Scottish classroom teachers and school managers, but will also be of interest to local authorities, researchers, trainee teachers, parents and pupils.

United Kingdom (UK): Department for Education and Skills
This site provides information and advice on all stages of education and learning within the UK.

United Kingdom (UK): Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)
From September 2001 national qualifications in adult literacy and numeracy became available for the first time. The accreditation of these qualifications gives assurance to users that they are based on the national standards ensuring consistency in terms of level, demand, content and outcomes. Qualifications are available in adult literacy and numeracy at entry level and levels 1 and 2. The tests for these certificates are the same as the tests used for communication and application of number key skills at levels 1 and 2.

United Kingdom (UK): Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)
National Standards for Adult Literacy, Numeracy, and ICT (Information and Communication Technology):
In 2000, QCA and DfES (Department for Education and Skills) published the first national standards for adult literacy and numeracy. These standards formed the basis of a number of initiatives, now established, to address levels of literacy and numeracy among the adult population. These include: national qualifications in adult literacy, adult numeracy and ESOL at Entry level, level 1 and level 2; national adult literacy and adult numeracy tests at levels 1 and 2; national adult literacy and adult numeracy and ESOL core curricula.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation)
EFA 2000 Literacy Assessment
The UNESCO Education for All (EFA) movement took off at the World Conference on Education for All in 1990. Since then, governments, non-governmental organizations, civil society, bilateral and multilateral donor agencies and the media have taken up the cause of providing basic education for all children, youth and adults. The EFA 2000 Assessment was the most in-depth evaluation of basic education ever undertaken. Conducted in more than 180 countries, the Assessment took stock of the current status of basic education in each country and evaluated the progress achieved during the 1990s since the World Conference. It provided a critical mass of information to help ensure that educational programmes are rooted in the real world.

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K-12 Resources

Appropriate Use of High-Stakes Testing in Our Nation's Schools
Testing is an extremely valuable part of educational assessment, but it is only a part of the formula for quality learning. When tests are used in high-stakes circumstances, a number of safeguards must be in place. Because the stakes are so high for so many students, additional research should begin immediately to learn more about the intended and unintended consequences of testing in educational decision making. If tests are going to be used to determine which students will advance and what subjects schools will teach, it is imperative that we understand how best to measure student learning and how the use of high-stakes testing will affect student drop-out rates, graduation rates, course content, levels of student anxiety, and teaching practices. The bottom-line question, as yet unanswered, is: What will be the long-term effect of high-stakes testing on student achievement? Will it enhance or diminish broad-based learning?

CRESST: The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing
UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE) and, more recently, the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) have been on the forefront of efforts to improve the quality of education and learning in America. Located within UCLA's Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, CSE/CRESST has pioneered the development of scientifically based evaluation and testing techniques, vigorously promoting the accurate use of data, test scores, and technology for improved accountability and decision making.

Educational Records Bureau - ERB
Educational Records Bureau (ERB) offers testing programs for use in public and private schools. Each of ERB's four testing programs has its own name and is designed to serve a specific purpose and population. Comprehensive Testing Program (CTP 4) focuses on curriculum assessment and individual student and group achievement; Writing Assessment Program (WrAP) focuses on direct assessment of writing skills; Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) focuses on admissions; Independent Schools Admissions Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY) Program focuses on admission into New York City area independent schools.

Eisenhower National Clearing House Assessment Links
The mission of the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education (ENC) is to identify effective curriculum resources, create high-quality professional development materials, and disseminate useful information and products to improve K-12 mathematics and science teaching and learning.

Fair Test: The National Center for Fair & Open Testing
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (Fair Test) works to end the misuses and flaws of standardized testing and to ensure that evaluation of students, teachers and schools is fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial.

Reading Assessment Database for Grades K-2
Every published reading assessment appropriate for use in Grades K-2 has been summarized in SEDL's Reading Assessment Database.

Standards for the Assessment of Reading and Writing
This document from the International Reading Association and National Council of Teachers of English Joint Task Force on Assessment guides decisions about assessing the teaching and learning of reading and writing and reflects advances in our understanding of the best classroom practices (for purchase: $7.95 members; $9.95 non-members).

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National Resources

ERIC: Education Resources Information Center
The ERIC database is the world's largest education database. Begun in 1966, it is composed of more than one million bibliographic records. The goal of the new ERIC is to provide more education materials quicker, and more directly, to audiences through the Internet.

National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium
The National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium, incorporated in 1990 by state adult education directors, provides professional development, policy analysis, and dissemination of information important to state staff in adult education.

National Assessment of Adult Literacy
The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) is a nationally representative and continuing assessment of English language literacy skills of American adults. It seeks to: describe the status of adult literacy in the U.S.; report on national trends; and identify relationships between literacy and selected characteristics of adults.

National Reporting System For Adult Education
The web site for information, resources and training relating to the National Reporting System (NRS).

Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation
Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation (PARE) is an on-line journal supported, in part, by the Department of Measurement, Statistics, and Evaluation at the University of Maryland, College Park. Its purpose is to provide education professionals access to refereed articles that can have a positive impact on assessment, research, evaluation, and teaching practice, especially at the local education agency (LEA) level.

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Research Organizations

Aguirre International
Aguirre International is a customer-oriented company that has established a standard of excellence in applied research, evaluation, technical assistance, and information systems for domestic and international clients. Aguirre International works with the government, nonprofit or business sector to access difficult to find information about pertinent issues surrounding social policy, education, international development, and workforce development. Aguirre International conducts rigorous evaluations to identify strategies for success, and provides personalized and responsive training and technical assistance to ensure research-based strategies are effectively integrated within the client organization.

SRI International (Stanford Research Institute)
SRI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute that conducts client-supported research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses and nonprofit foundations. SRI is well known, in part, for studying the public policy areas of education, health, and economic development.

West Ed
WestEd is a nonprofit research, development, and service agency that works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults.

IOX Assessment Associates - Educational Research and Development
IOX Assessment Associates works with topics that 21st century educators want to learn more about, for example, high-stakes tests, school quality, the No Child Left Behind Act, teaching's relationship to testing, measuring students' attitudes, and classroom assessment. In addition, they work with content that interests parents, namely, homework, judging school quality, parental involvement, accountability, testing students, and working with teachers. Resources for download and for purchase.

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Testing

Association of Test Publishers
Established in 1992, The Association of Test Publishers is a non-profit organization representing providers of tests and assessment tools and/or services related to assessment, selection, screening, certification, licensing, educational or clinical uses.

Code of Fair Testing Practices
The Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education is a guide for professionals in fulfilling their obligation to provide and use tests that are fair to all test takers regardless of age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, linguistic background, or other personal characteristics.

Code of Professional Responsibilities in Educational Measurement
The Code of Professional Responsibilities in Educational Measurement serves as a guide to inform and remind those involved in educational assessment of their obligations to uphold the integrity of the manner in which assessments are developed, used, evaluated, and marketed. Moreover, it is expected that the Code will stimulate thoughtful discussion of what constitutes professionally responsible assessment practice at all levels in education.

Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service is the world's largest private educational testing and measurement organization and a leader in educational research. The company serves the needs of individuals, educational institutions, and government bodies in almost 200 countries. ETS develops and administers more than 12 million tests worldwide.

The Joint Committee on Testing Practice
The Joint Committee on Testing Practices (JCTP) was established in 1985 by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME). The American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) joined JCTP in 1987. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and the National Association of Test Directors (NATD) has since joined JCTP, which now consists of ACA, AERA, APA, ASHA, NASP, NATD, and NCME. According to its bylaws, JCTP provides "a means by which professional organizations and test publishers can work together to improve the use of tests in assessment and appraisal."

National Council on Measurement in Education
The mission of NCME includes:
Encouragement of scholarly efforts to advance the science of measurement in the field of education; improve measurement instruments and procedures for their administration, scoring, interpretation, and use; and improve applications of measurement in assessment of individuals and evaluations of educational programs. Dissemination of knowledge about theory, techniques, and instrumentation available for measurement of educationally relevant human, institutional, and social characteristics; procedures appropriate to the interpretation and use of such techniques and instruments; and applications of educational measurement in individual and group evaluation studies. (Click on publications, then: "ITEMS: The Instructional Topics in Educational Measurement Series")

Rights and Responsibilities of Test Takers: Guidelines and Expectations
The purpose of the Guidelines and Expectations is to inform and to help educate not only test takers, but also others involved in the testing enterprise so that measurements may be most validly and appropriately used. This document is intended to encourage positive and high quality interactions between testing professionals and test takers.

The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing
This provides information on the content of this textbook, as well as information for purchase.

University of Chicago Test Collection
The University of Chicago maintains a special collection of separately published standardized printed instruments utilized in the fields of education and psychology. The collection now includes more than 5,200 separately published tests, dating back to some published in the early decades of the twentieth century. Especially well represented are measurement instruments for general personality, intelligence, and achievement.

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Testing and Disabilities

Educational Testing Service: Disabilities and Testing
This site provides information to test applicants with disabilities who seek approval of reasonable testing accommodations.

The GED and Students with LD and/or ADHD
Explains students' experiences struggling to take the test, and provides clear information on how to obtain information and help on testing accommodations.

Guidelines for Inclusive Test Administration
This document, by CTB/McGraw-Hill, provides guidelines on the use and appropriate interpretation of the results of inclusive test administrations. These guidelines are intended to facilitate the valid interpretation of individual student results and valid comparisons of year-to-year and group-to-group summary data. Does not address the range of issues facing LEP students.

National Center on Educational Outcomes
The National Center on Educational Outcomes provides national leadership in the participation of students with disabilities in national and state assessments, standards-setting efforts, and graduation requirements.

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