Issues in Policy, Assessment, and Equity.

National educational reform presents an unprecedented opportunity to combine policy options, the best technological knowledge, and American concerns about equity and fairness. There are three principal concerns regarding equity in assessment of Limited-English-proficient (LEP) and other student populations: (1) if students are not assessed because of a lack of instruments, they will fail to benefit from the presumed desirable effects of assessment; (2) if LEP students are assessed in English on subject matters such as mathematics, their performance will be handicapped to varying degrees by their lack of English skills; and (3) all students must be provided the opportunity to learn. This paper seeks to describe and define alternative assessment and characteristics; to review the evidence in support of alternative assessment or performance-based assessment; to consider the validity of alternative assessment when it is applied under various policy options; and to present an example of research and development in alternative assessment being conducted at the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST). Responses to the paper by Lorraine Valdez-Pierce and Peter M. Byron are appended. (VH.,) *********************************************************************** NeproaucLions supplies oy tUKS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** isewurnion OF EDUCATION twow Aw... Lwow* toupolomtl nEsotracts notymucno. CENTER IEINO 11,The 1100.011.1 NS IMMO ,111.1hter3 Opar.011 (N. for e, 0 War awipsoftrat tre...r7. r W nwevoN NY Issues in Policy, Assessment, and Equity WO°. otomostNYoo. mont le rot waameoI ...WI ORO. OEM mote. et vow, Eva L. Baker University of California, Los Angeles National educational reform presents an unprecedented opportunity to combine our boldest policy options, the best technical knowledge, and American concerns about equity and fairness. To date, the intent of the National Education Goals supports the policy goal of ctt high quality education and restoration of American competitiveness. The six Goals (see Appendix) also refer to challenge and accomplishment as required of "all" students. Particularly, in Goal One, focused oc on children's readiness for school, the explicit acknowledgment of the importance of health care, early education, and parental guidance Gr'., push the boundaries of educational reform far beyond the school-