One central component of a great school system is a clear set of expectations, or standards, that educators help all students reach. In Iowa, that effort is known as the Iowa Core. The Iowa Core represents the statewide academic standards, which describe what students should know and be able to do in math, science, English language arts, and…

The study, "The Impact of Indiana's System of Interim Assessments on Mathematics and Reading," examined the effects of using Diagnostic Assessment Tools (DAT) on mathematics and reading outcomes for students in 59 Indiana schools during the 2009-10 academic year. DAT consists of interim assessment tools--Wireless Generation's mCLASS for…

Academies were started in 2000 to alter the fortunes of failing schools that disproportionately served students from some of the nation's poorest communities. By helping these schools with the support of philanthropic, educational and business partners, the intention was to improve the lives of young people from the least privileged backgrounds by…

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has built a comprehensive learning and assessment system in English Language Arts/Literacy (ELA/L) and mathematics, the components of which work together toward the goal that all students leave high school prepared for postsecondary success in college or career through increased student learning and…

This study continues the work that National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) and its partners, Clowder Consulting and Education-Counsel, began with their "Right Trajectory" study (see ED581172), released in 2015, and continued in their "Still the Right Trajectory" study (see ED581173) released in early 2017. In…

"Learning to Teach in a New Era" prepares preservice teachers to embrace the opportunities and meet the challenges of teaching in the twenty-first century. Closely aligned with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) and the Australian Curriculum, this book is an invaluable resource for early childhood, primary and…

The "2016 Comprehensive Biennial Report on Texas Public Schools" describes the status of Texas public education, as required by §39.332 of the Texas Education Code. The report contains 16 chapters on the following topics: (1) state progress on academic performance indicators; (2) student performance on state assessments; (3) performance…

The first part of this paper describes the use of the robust z[subscript R] statistic to link test forms using the Rasch (or one-parameter logistic) model. The procedure is then extended to the two-parameter and three-parameter logistic and two-parameter partial credit (2PPC) models. A real set of data was used to illustrate the extension. The…

The duplex design by Bock and Mislevy for school-based testing is revisited and evaluated as a potential platform in test-based accountability assessments today. We conclude that the model could be useful in meeting the many competing demands of today's test-based accountability assessments, although many research questions will need to be…

The m-rater scoring engine has been used successfully for the past several years to score "CBAL"™ mathematics tasks, for the most part without the need for human scoring. During this time, various improvements to m-rater and its scoring keys have been implemented in response to specific CBAL needs. In 2012, with the general move toward…

Student movement between institutions can no longer be deemed atypical. Approximately one-third of all students transfer during their college career and of those who transfer, 25% will transfer more than once. While movement from two-year to four-year institutions is still the most prevalent transfer pathway, it is important to note that 43% of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the Measurement and Evaluation Development Program on pre-service physical education teachers' general perceptions and competency perceptions related to alternative assessment in physical education, and their competency perceptions related to educational measurement and evaluation. The…

Planning is possibly the most important step of the assessment process. This article presents a four-tiered approach to designing and implementing a general education institutional assessment plan. Categorizing the measures you use to assess established learning outcomes helps you prioritize your general education assessment initiatives and keep…

In the latter part of the 20th century, behavioral scientists and society generally adopted a cultural belief that cognitive ability was the most significant determinant of educational and workforce outcomes. This led to efforts to raise students' test scores, the promotion of teachers who were successful in doing so, and heavy if not…

The Common Core wave has swept the country. The expectation is in place for a rapid implementation of both the curriculum and the assessments. The author visited schools across the country as an external evaluator to review their transition plans, and he was struck by the great unevenness of the preparation across districts and schools. What are…