Accountability and Alternative Assessment: Research and Development Issues

Despite growing dissatisfaction with traditional multiple-choice tests, national and state educational policies reflect continuing belief in the power of good assessment to encourage school improvement. The underlying logic is strong. Good assessment sets meaningful standards, and these standards provide direction for instructional efforts and models of good practice. But are these reasonable assumptions? How close are we to having the good assessments that are required? This report summarizes the research evidence supporting current beliefs in testing, identifies critical qualities that good assessment should exemplify, and reviews the current state of the research knowledge on how to produce such measures.