Assessing National Goals: Some Measurement Dilemmas.

The measurement dilemmas involved in assessing the national educational goals established by the President and governors at the 1989 education summit are discussed. The first and most important choice is what to assess and whether to align assessment to the vision of curriculum reform or to the curriculum that students are actually experiencing. Another issue includes whether assessment should be aligned to what is to be assessed or to what we know how to test. Once assessments are constructed, sampling strategies must be carefully considered. Assessments that serve accountability purposes are more expensive than those that serve only descriptive purposes. The distinction between norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment is another issue that must be considered. The desire for international comparisons is an additional aspect that creates real problems in national assessment. Another dilemma is whether student performance is all that must be assessed, or must inputs and procedures be assessed as well? The 6 goals and 26 objectives defined by the President and the governors will only be useful if they are widely shared and widely recognized as achievable and worth the cost. A 21-item list of references is included. (SLD)