The growth of competency-based education in an online environment requires the development and measurement of quality competency-based courses. While quality measures for online courses have been developed and standardized, they do not directly align with emerging best practices and principles in the design of quality competency-based online…

States are currently seeking ways to improve alignment between K-12 and postsecondary education and better prepare students for postsecondary schooling. Some states have begun implementing policies that inform high school students that they are not ready for college-level courses well before they graduate, in order to give both notice and time to…

Electronic assignment submission (e-submission) tools, such as those within course management systems (e.g. Blackboard), or systems such as Turnitin, which enable students to submit coursework online are now one of the main centrally supported institutional tools in Higher Education (HE) in the United Kingdom (UK), however the development of…

Assessment for Learning (AfL) has influenced the assessment policy of many countries around the world because a range of research studies have shown the effectiveness of AfL on student learning. In the English context, although significant AfL developments have taken place in schools, its implementation seems not to have produced significant and…

In summer of 2014, two groups of scholars and policy experts met separately to rethink educational accountability. These groups came from what most would consider different "camps" on school reform--one focused on transforming teaching for "deeper learning" and the other focused on choice as a means for leveraging school…

This paper is a narrative of our experience in analyzing and merging data files provided to us by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO). In the paper, we propose a scheme of merging data files by means of Structured Query Language (SQL, pronounced as "sequel"). Although, the narrative of our experiences using this…

This paper introduces the generalized beta (GB) model as a new modeling tool in the educational assessment area and evaluation analysis, specifically. Unlike normal model, GB model allows us to capture some real characteristics of data and it is an important tool for understanding the phenomenon of learning. This paper develops a contrast with the…

Learning analytics is a relatively new field of inquiry and its precise meaning is both contested and fluid (Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine & Haywood, 2011; LAK, n.d.). Ferguson (2012) suggests that the best working definition is that offered by the first Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK) conference: "the measurement, collection,…

This article explores competencies and methods for their assessment in higher education and in social work's accreditation standards. Many contemporary policy and educational accreditation efforts employ the model of competency assessment. The current emphasis on accountability in higher education, including the Council on Social Work…

In his commentary on "How Task Features Impact Evidence from Assessments Embedded in Simulations and Games" by Almond et al., Mike Timms writes that his own research has involved the use of embedded assessments using simulations in interactive learning environments, and the Evidence Centered Design (ECD) approach has provided a solid…

This article offers evidence on ways in which assessment of student learning outcomes made a difference for some academic institutions in the United States. It offers perspectives on the internal changes that took place, especially within academic programmes. Even after the capacity for assessment was developed, challenges remained in evaluating…

Background/Context: PISA has catapulted the OECD- an organization whose mission is the global growth of market economies-to a central role in international education policy making, rivaling and sometimes outdoing the various national governments in influence. While claiming scientific evidence as the basis for the accountability regime it…

In recent years, the concept of Assessment for Learning (AfL) has travelled across countries, giving rise to a range of educational policy initiatives and school development projects. While researchers have focused on issues such as how formative assessment can support student learning and lead to more efficient classroom practices, less attention…

In the field of international educational surveys, equivalence of achievement scale scores across countries has received substantial attention in the academic literature; however, only a relatively recent emphasis on scale score equivalence in nonachievement education surveys has emerged. Given the current state of research in multiple-group…

Outcome Mapping is intended to measure the process by which change occurs, it shifts away from the products of the program to focus on changes in behaviors, relationships, actions, and/or activities of the people involved in the treatment program. This process-oriented methodology, most often used in designing and evaluating community development…