This text was prepared by six American researchers from RAND Education, Harvard U. and U. of California-Santa Barbara, for the National Science Foundation. The text is designed to provide practitioners and policymakers who make decisions about assessment and accountability with accurate and accessible information to inform their decisions. Coverage includes how tests are used in test-based accountability systems; evaluating the technical quality of tests and trustworthiness of the information they provide; how test-based accountability affects teacher practices; and the effects of political considerations on the policy debate. No subject index. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)