Supporting Formative Assessment for Deeper Learning: A Primer for Policymakers
This primer argues that effective formative assessment is essential to successfully implementing new college- and career-ready standards. It explains what formative assessment is, how it works in practice, and why it is critically important in fostering powerful pedagogy and 21st-century...
Ohio Testing Report and Recommendations
In response to the Ohio Governor and General Assembly 2014 request, the Ohio Department of Education conducted a survey of the number of tests administered to students with the intended goal of reducing the amount of time that students spend on test taking and test preparation activities. The...
Testing Reform Victories 2015: Growing Grassroots Movement Rolls Back Testing Overkill
As its title suggests, the authors of this publication present information related to recent changes in state and district assessment policies. Those issues include: Graduation Test Policies Test-Based Grade Retention Opting Out of Testing Public Opinion about Tests Tests for College Admissions;...
Illinois Assessment Literacy Training Module
This website contains a 39-page guide, Guiding Principles for Classroom Assessment, that discusses assessment design, preparation, analysis, and quality (reliability, validity, cultural diversity, and fairness). A 4.5-minute webinar, Introduction to Balanced Assessment, gives an overview of a...
Parent Assessment Event Toolkit
The purpose of this PTA toolkit is to help answer parents' questions about new state assessments aligned to new college and career readiness standards. The toolkit includes a broad variety of resources, including information about PARCC and Smarter Balanced assessments, assessment PowerPoint...
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.