Nationally, policy makers are concerned about differences between states and how competitive American students are with their peers in other countries. Improving student achievement can take place at each of these levels. Teachers work with an individual student in a classroom, or revamp classroom-wide instruction based on an assessment. At the district level, educators target particular areas of the curriculum for attention. At the state level, incentives for improving instructional programs may be most important.
School reform occurs at all levels of the educational system.
Typically, student achievement is measured with available student test data, often using information from district or state testing programs. Information collected less formally in classrooms is not typically included in school improvement plans, even though such information could provide valuable insights into student learning. The nature of information needs should form the basis for an assessment design. In a top-down model, policymakers develop an assessment design that meets their needs, hoping the data may be useful by persons at lower levels. An alternative is to build the assessment system needed at the local level, aggregating the information upwards to the district, state and national levels.