Understanding Dropouts: Statistics, Strategies, and High-Stakes Testing (Compass Series) - Softcover

National Research Council; Division Of Behavioral And Social Sciences And Education; Center For Education; Board On Testing And Assessment; Committee On Educational Excellence And Testing Equity

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0309076021 ISBN 13: 9780309076029

Publisher: National Academies Press, 2001

Synopsis

The role played by testing in the nation's public school system has been increasing steadily-and growing more complicated-for more than 20 years. The Committee on Educational Excellence and Testing Equity (CEETE) was formed to monitor the effects of education reform, particularly testing, on students at risk for academic failure because of poverty, lack of proficiency in English, disability, or membership in population subgroups that have been educationally disadvantaged. The committee recognizes the important potential benefits of standards-based reforms and of test results in revealing the impact of reform efforts on these students. The committee also recognizes the valuable role graduation tests can potentially play in making requirements concrete, in increasing the value of a diploma, and in motivating students and educators alike to work to higher standards. At the same time, educational testing is a complicated endeavor, that reality can fall far short of the model, and that testing cannot by itself provide the desired benefits. If testing is improperly used, it can have negative effects, such as encouraging school leaving, that can hit disadvantaged students hardest. The committee was concerned that the recent proliferation of high school exit examinations could have the unintended effect of increasing dropout rates among students whose rates are already far higher than the average, and has taken a close look at what is known about influences on dropout behavior and at the available data on dropouts and school completion.

Table of Contents

• Front Matter
• Executive Summary
• 1. Background and Context
• 2. What Completion Means and Why It's Important
• 3.Complexities in Counting
• 4. Effects of High-Stakes Testing and Standards
• References
• Appendix : Workshop Agenda

About this title

About the Author:

Alexandra Beatty, Ulric Neisser, William T. Trent, and Jay P. Heubert, Editors, Committee on Educational Excellence and Testing Equity, National Research Council

About this edition

• Publisher: National Academies Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0309076021
• ISBN 13: 9780309076029
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 66
• Editor: Heubert Jay P., Trent William T., Neisser Ulric, Beatty Alexandra