Chapter 6: Assessment

State assessments are the means used to determine whether schools have been successful in teaching students the knowledge, reasoning, and skills defined in each state’s content and achievement standards. The goal of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB, 2002) is to have all students in the United States reach the level of “proficient” on state assessments in reading and mathematics by 2014. Since the 2005–2006 school year, every state that accepts federal funding is required to assess annually students in reading and mathematics in Grades 3–8, plus once in high school. States must publicize assessment results for each school, or they may lose federal funding. As Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on state assessments has such important consequences, we discuss how the NCLB testing environment affects what superintendents and principals reported. We analyzed qualitative data obtained through Voices From the Field: Phase 3 (Voices 3) interview transcripts using methods frequently cited by qualitative researchers (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992). Transcripts were read twice and coded. The codes were then collapsed into larger themes and subthemes described by the participants. The chapter focuses on the themes and subthemes that address the following questions: