NASBE
http://www.nasbe.org/Educational_Issues/Account.html
NASBE provides links to assessment, standards, and accountability.
The Great National Test Debate
http://www.pta.org/programs/octcover.htm
“Clinton signaled his administration's priorities by visiting a school in nearby Maryland to talk about one of the most vigorously debated issues before the American public today. That issue is his own proposal to create two voluntary national tests for our nation's public schoolchildren.”
Guidelines for Appropriate Curriculum Content and Assessment in Programs Serving Children Ages 3 Through 8
http://www.naeyc.org/resources/position_statements/pscuras.htm
This 1990 statement, revised in 2002 with call for comment—describes appropriate assessment activities for young children.
Academic Redshirting and Young Children
http://npin.org/library/2001/n00520/n00520.html
“This Digest discusses what studies have said thus far about redshirting and its potential effects, and offers suggestions for parents considering delaying their child's entrance into kindergarten.”
NAEYC Position Statement on School Readiness (Adopted July 1990; Revised 1995)
http://www.naeyc.org/resources/position_statements/psredy98.htm
“The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) believes that the commitment to promoting universal school readiness requires 1. addressing the inequities in early life experience so that all children have access to the opportunities that promote school success; 2. recognizing and supporting individual differences among children including linguistic and cultural differences; and 3. establishing reasonable and appropriate expectations of children's capabilities upon school entry.”
Public Factors That Contribute to School Readiness
http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v1n2/edwards.html
“The article suggests that with the hindsight gained from historical knowledge and a clear understanding of the factors that contribute to school readiness, we are better equipped to make the first goal of today's educational reform a reality—that all children in America start school ready to learn.”
Readiness: Children and Schools
http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9219/readiness.htm
“Realizing the goal of having all our children ready for school and all our schools ready for the children by the year 2000 will require the best efforts of all involved: parents, teachers, administrators and everyone in the community who has a stake in the welfare of its children. And that's just about everybody!”
Readiness for School
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/getpubList.asp?L1=144&L2=0
The National Center for Educational Statistics offers several studies on the topic.
Readiness for School: A Survey of State Policies and Definitions
http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v2n2/saluja.html
“This paper provides data on what states are doing with regard to defining and assessing the condition of children as they enter school, often referred to as readiness for school.”
School Readiness Conference: Recommendations
http://readyweb.crc.uiuc.edu/library/1994/crnic2.html
“This paper attempts to summarize and later list the specific recommendations that evolved from the Conference--School Readiness: Scientific Perspectives--conducted on January 24-26, 1992, at Columbia, Maryland, under the support of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau.”
STILL Unacceptable Trends in Kindergarten Entry and Placement (2000 Revision and Update)
http://www.naeyc.org/resources/position_statements/psunacc.pdf
“Concerned about the persistence of practices which narrow the curriculum in kindergarten and primary education, constrict equal educational opportunity for some children, and curtail the exercise of professional responsibility of early childhood educators, The National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS/SDE) offers this position paper in an effort to increase public awareness about educational policies and practices affecting young children. Our hope is that it will serve as a catalyst for change at local, state, and national levels.”
Position Statement: Student Grade Retention: National Association of School Psychologists
http://npin.org/library/pre1998/n00348/n00348.html
“The retention of students, while widely practiced, is in large measure not substantiated by sound research.”
Ready To Learn Annual Report 2000
http://www.readytolearn.aed.org/AnnualReport2000.htm
This report contains a summary of the work Ready to Learn has initiated in 2000.
Standardized Testing of Young Children 3 Through 8 Years of Age (Adopted November 1987)
http://www.naeyc.org/resources/position_statements/pstestin.htm
“The purpose of this position statement is to guide the decisions of educators regarding the use of standardized tests with young children 3 through 8 years of age. These administrative decisions include whether to use standardized testing, how to critically evaluate existing tests, how to carefully select appropriate and accurate tests to be used with a population and purpose for which the test was designed, and how to use and interpret the results yielded from standardized tests to parents, school personnel, and the media.”
