This article investigates the persistent and change elements of educational testing and assessment from 1920 to the present day. I show by examining the addresses and texts of American Educational Research Association presidents a continuing focus on schools, from early experiments and development up through applications in accountability systems. Continuing topics include sources of test content and uses of tests for equity, effectiveness, support of teaching, and comparisons of alternative methods through experiments or references to standards. Although early writers appeared very close to school practices, later discussions expanded implications for policy uses.
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