Education officials have long hoped that the statewide academic assessments most students take each year could be used not only for accountability but also to guide instruction. Congress established the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) program in 2015 to help address this goal, offering up to seven states temporary flexibility…

This appendix volume supplements "Evaluating the Federal Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority: Early Implementation and Progress of State Efforts to Develop New Statewide Academic Assessments. Evaluation Report. NCEE 2023-004" analyzing the early progress of the first five assessment systems participating in the Innovative…

Education officials have long hoped that the statewide academic assessments most students take each year could be used not only for accountability but also to guide instruction. Congress established the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) program in 2015 to help address this goal, offering up to seven states flexibility from…

Summative assessments measure students' mastery of grade-level academic standards and skills in specific content areas after learning. State summative assessment systems provide students and families, school and district leaders, and state policymakers with valuable data to help understand student progress and school quality. This Policy Guide…

High-stakes, standardized testing plays an important role in the lives of many students as they apply to college and compete for scholarships. In states where college readiness measures, like the ACT® test, are used for school and district accountability, the ACT scores of all students, whether college-bound or not, are a top priority for school…

The Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) was asked to provide information on how other states are approaching the development and implementation of Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) as part of a comprehensive assessment system. Specifically, the request asked for information about KEA measures used by other states, the processes…

The purpose of this paper is to provide information and insight into how state assessment programs are governed, how individual state and state-consortium assessment programs actually operate, and how key policy and technical decisions on these programs are made. To address these issues, this paper is divided into three sections: First, the New…

This study guide is designed to help teachers understand the role assessment plays in helping students learn and to help teachers improve their own assessment capacities. The guide contains assigned readings, discussion questions, activities, checks for understanding, and reflections for learners using the "Classroom Assessment: Linking…

This publication provides a reference for those interested in conducting comparative studies about North Carolina tests. It includes norms tables and other basic statistical information for all state-developed tests (state-mandated and local option tests where baseline data are available) that were administered during the current accountability…

This document contains student and school system performance data on North Carolina's grade 3 pretest, end-of-grade tests, high school comprehensive test, and end-of-course tests. Results were generated from tests administered statewide in the 2000-2001 school year. The grade 3 pretest was administered in reading and mathematics, and the…

The ABC Accountability Plan in North Carolina elementary and middle schools focuses primarily on the average growth shown by groups of students on end-of-grade reading and mathematics tests. Average test results for a group of students at the end of a year are compared to scores for the same students at the end of the prior year. Two levels of…

The bond that links quality assessment and effective teaching is clarified for North Carolina teachers in the context of the state's continued emphasis on effective schooling. This manual begins a statewide effort to promote assessment literacy among educators. It is emphasized that no single type of assessment can meet all of the purposes of…

Examines each of the four arguments aginst the North Carolina competency testing program: that the test will result in denial of equal protection of the law, in a violation of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and in a denial of both procedural and substantive due process. (Author/IRT)

This document describes the North Carolina Open-Ended Assessment for grades 4 and 8 and presents results for the 1999-2000 administration. The assessment emphasizes higher level thinking skills and requires students to apply or demonstrate skills and knowledge beyond the recall level on challenging subject matter. The open-ended assessment has…

Describes the development and testing of the North Carolina minimal competency testing program. (IRT)