Stability and Change in Title I Testing Policy

Abstract

This article examines the history of Title I's student testing requirements, focusing on the two purposes they have served as a policy tool and measurement instrument. It argues that these purposes have been defined by a stable core of testing requirements whose specific targeting and technical characteristics have evolved in response to changes in Title I's institutional and interest group environment. In concluding, it considers the form and purpose that the testing requirements are likely to take in the future of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Keywords

• Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
• student testing
• federal K–12 education policy