Opt Out: An Examination of Issues
During the past few years, media reports have highlighted an increase in the number of parents who are opting their children out of annual state tests, often called the opt-out movement. In this paper, researcher Randy Bennett examines issues related to the movement including: the amount of time...
Parent Roadmaps to the Common Core Standards - English Language Arts
The parent roadmaps provide guidance for parents about what their children are learning in grades K–8 and high school. It also provides grade-specific questions for parents to ask teachers regarding their children's progress and grade strategies for parents to use to support their children at home...
Understanding the CAASPP Student Score Reports
This web page links to a number of guides for parents or guardians to help them read and understand the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) student score reports. It also links to other resources, including parent guides to the Smarter Balanced summative assessments,...
In Effort to Fix Tribal Schools, Feds Face Doubts
This 2015 Education Week articles summarizes many of the challenges facing federal plans to "turn more control of Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools to tribes." American Indian students attending BIE schools remain some of the lowest-performing in the country; consequently the proposal to...
Smarter Balanced Assessments: Keep Results in Perspective for Students and Their Families
In this short California Schools article, veteran educator Kathy Caric encourages districts and schools to implement effective strategies to inform parents and students about the value of multiple measures when reporting student progress. She notes that the expected low scores on the upcoming...
Strategies for Communicating Results: Using the Change to Common Core Linked Assessments
From the Producer: "In this online webinar, REL Mid-Atlantic, Division H of the American Educational Research Association, and REL Northwest teamed up for a presentation and discussion of strategies that states and districts can use to communicate with the public about the new assessments linked to...
The Role of Strategic Communications in the Transition to New Academic Standards and Assessments: Case Studies of Tennessee and Kentucky
This case study examines how the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the state of Tennessee managed communications in the transition to more rigorous standards. The authors present eight important lessons including: proactive communication; coordinated communication; educator engagement; simple messages;...
Benchmarking State Implementation of College- and Career-Readiness Standards, Aligned Assessments and Related Reforms: Cross-State Findings
The Southern Regional Education Board conducted a multi-year study of how 14 states are implementing college- and career-ready standards. This report is part of a series for the "Benchmarking State Implementation of Common Core Standards" project.