Making the Grade: A 50-State Analysis of School Accountability Systems
This publication includes: an historical overview of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; a review of the requirements of the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act; a summary of the difference types of accountability systems used by states; and specific information about different state...
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;...
Testing Reduction Report
This report provides a number of recommendations to address important assessment issues in New York state. These issues include: test anxiety, assessment quality, and too much testing. The authors recommend the release of more test questions, greater use of adaptive testing, additional guidance to...
Better Tests, Fewer Barriers: Advances in Accessibility through PARCC and Smarter Balanced
As the title implies, this Center for American Progress publication provides an overview of the general movement toward increased accessibility for students with disabilities (SWDs) and English Language Learners (ELLs). The authors present statistics showing a substantial increase in the numbers of...
Guide to Evaluating Assessments Using the CCSSO Criteria for High Quality Assessments: Focus on Test Content
Because the results from state assessments are often used for high stakes purposes, it is important that the assessments themselves are of high quality. In this publication, the authors propose a methodology for evaluating state assessments for summative purposes. They describe their methodology...
Answering the Questions That Count
In this brief Educational Leadership article, the authors draw from their personal experiences to illustrate the value of answering essential questions prior to data collection. They examine three components of systematic data use: data quality, data capacity, and data culture. Each component is...
Assessment in Elementary and Secondary Education: A Primer
The following is a summary of this publication from the Congressional Research Service.