When STARS reform efforts were launched in 2000, teacher training in assessment was seen as crucial to the success of the program. The STARS reform efforts focus on both supporting the implementation of quality classroom assessment practices and implementing a district‐based accountability system. The training programs described in this article were developed in response to one or both of these needs. Two of the programs were designed to provide training to experienced teacher. The other two programs were designed to meet the needs of pre‐service teachers. Evidence suggests that the training programs have had a positive impact on teacher confidence, knowledge, and skill in key areas of assessment. In addition, there also appears to be evidence, while somewhat limited, which suggests students also experience positive outcomes.

Teachers spend approximately one third of their time in assessment activities, yet most states do not require a course in tests and measurement for certification. Three hundred ninety-seven teachers completed a survey of their formal measurement training, their beliefs about the ade quacy and importance of their training, influences on their measurement knowledge, and their perceived abilities in measurement. Forty-seven percent of the teachers reported that their mea surement training was somewhat or very inadequate. Most reported that they learned about testing and measurement by trial and error in their classes. Teachers who had taken less than one course in tests and measurement during their undergraduate course work were less likely to acquire measurement skills through graduate courses or inservice work than teachers who took one or more courses. Regardless of the amount of their measurement training, teachers reported that measurement skills were very important and that they considered their own abilities in measurement to be high.

This study investigated the effects of providing item feedback on student achievement test performance and anxiety, and how these effects may be moderated by the amount of success and students experience on the initial items of the test. Introductory statistics students were randomly assigned to six forms of a computer-based algebra test that differed in terms of (a) the difficulty of the first five items, and (b) the type of item feedback provided. Although test performance was not affected significantly by differences among the test forms, student anxiety levels were significantly increased when administered the test form using difficult initial items and providing item feedback along with a running score total. Implications for the use of item feedback in computer-based testing are discussed.

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