Over the past few years, a variety of factors, including changes in statute and case law, national and state policy initiatives, and plebiscites, have both transformed educational testing and increased the need for oversight. All have altered the use of tests, in some cases fundamentally, and all have the potential to affect profoundly both educational systems and individuals, particularly students currently ill-served by the educational system -- economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, students for whom English is a second language, and students from ethnic minorities. These changes also raise difficult equity and technical questions, placing policymakers, educators, and even researchers in uncharted territory. Perhaps at no time in the past half century have questions and consequences surrounding educational testing been as widespread and serious. These spotlight issues represent some of the major conflicts that surround educational testing today. this page last updated on April 21, 1998 |
