On Tuesday, the Princeton Review released its second annual ranking of the states' testing and accountability systems - rendered all the more timely by the requirements of NCLB. The rankings were based on four criteria: 1) whether the state's test is well-aligned to its curriculum standards, 2) the quality of the test, 3) the degree of openness of state testing policies and procedures to ongoing improvement, and 4) the ability of the tests to influence education policy in a way that is consistent with the goals of the state. The study seeks to highlight the difference between those accountability programs that are done well, such as New York, Massachusetts and Texas, and those that are done poorly, including Montana, Rhode Island and South Dakota, "to insist that those who design accountability systems be held accountable for their impact on the next several generations of students."
"Testing the testers," The Princeton Review, May 2003