This convergent mixed methods study sought to explore the effects of engineering design challenges (EDCs) on middle school students' achievement. Data was collected from four middle schools from an urban school district in Maryland. Two of these, Group A, included teachers with experience with EDC design and implementation; the other two schools,…

Purpose: We examined whether diverse profiles of strengths and weaknesses would emerge when assessing different aspects of morphological awareness in first- through sixth-grade students using a recently developed standardized test, the Morphological Awareness Test for Reading and Spelling (MATRS; Apel et al., 2021). Method: Four thousand…

Across the nation, K-12 systems increasingly use performance assessments to demonstrate and evaluate student learning. These assessments are also a promising source of information to support college access and success. But using K-12 performance assessments at the postsecondary level will require changes across the K-12 and postsecondary sectors,…

Community colleges are under ongoing pressure to increase the success of students placed into developmental courses; while many reforms focus on the length of course sequences, there is also attention on how students are assessed and placed. Studies of these assessment and placement (A&P) methods focus primarily on predictive validity; one…

The American College Test (ACT) serves as the most utilized college admissions test in the United States. With disparities existing in the scores of Black males on the ACT exam compared to their peers, it is imperative to explore how these students are perceiving and experiencing the ACT. This study explored how Black male students experience the…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine if and to what extent an ELL student's SBELP-RC could predict his or her ACPELA-RC, ACPELA-WP, and ACP-A1. Study participants were ELL students in Grades 9 to 12, attending a Northern Virginia high school. A further purpose of this study was to investigate if and to what extent…

Every year, millions of students take Advanced Placement (AP) exams hoping to score enough points to earn college credit and save on their tuition bill. But are they getting a real college education? The College Board says that AP classes and exams make the AP program more accessible and represent a step forward for educational justice. But the…

In the United States, standardized tests shape what, how, and why English Language Arts teachers teach. For the last generation, these tests have increasingly taken a narrowly text-centered approach to literature, making it difficult to enact or research alternatives. But what if it were otherwise? In the current study, we asked teachers to…

Statewide assessments in reading and math are required every year under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, at an annual expense of billions of taxpayer dollars. Analyzing 10 years of school-level results from public schools in two states-- Nebraska and Texas--we found that year-to-year correlations of schools' test scores were…

Through-year assessment is enjoying a surge of attention. A through-year assessment program is: (1) Administered in multiple distinct sessions during a school year; and (2) Intended to support (a) the production and use of a summative determination, and (b) one additional aim. More than a dozen states are designing, piloting, or implementing…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare child language assessment practices of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working in school and non-school settings to determine if their place of employment impacts the diagnostic decision-making process. Method: School-based SLPs (e.g., direct service providers employed in preschool and/or K-12…

A court decision in California, Larry P. v. Riles (1979) case, ruled in favor of African American students who were disproportionately and wrongly placed in special education (E.M.R. -- educable mentally retarded) classes. Standardized intelligence tests were biased, discriminatory and failed to identify the academic need to support African…

In this article, we examine eighth graders' incorrect responses to a specific task on a national standardized assessment of mathematics. The task asked students to write the formula for the perimeter of a given figure as a function of a variable. We focus on incorrect responses to better understand students' difficulties with the algebraic…

This applied dissertation examined the use of technological tools in formative assessment activities. These phenomena have left teachers searching for timely methods to perform formative assessment or assessment for learning activities. The problem addressed by this study was that standardized testing, large class size, and increasing distance…

With high stakes testing in public schools, pressure for success prompts schools to implement intervention programs for reading and mathematics, often at the expense of extra-curricular and elective activities. Previous literature indicated a correlation between reading comprehension and mathematical understanding. This study examined the specific…