Next-Generation Summative English Language Proficiency Assessments for English Learners: Priorities for Policy and Research
The English Language Proficiency Assessment Research Working Meeting: Summative Assessments (i.e., the Working Meeting) took place on June 11, 2014. The focus of the Working Meeting was on the annual, summative English language proficiency (ELP) assessments. Presentations on key issues and research...
Designing NGSS Assessments to Evaluate the Efficacy of Curriculum Interventions
In this paper, the authors present an approach to designing assessments for the intended purpose of evaluating curriculum interventions for NGSS implementation in schools. The use of evidence-centered design (ECD) is discussed and illustrated in an example from an urban middle school in which...
Closing the Expectations Gap: 2014 Annual Report on the Alignment of State K-12 Policies and Practice with the Demands of College and Careers
This is Achieve’s ninth annual Closing the Achievement Gap report, which details states’ progress in adopting and implementing a coherent set of policies that will prepare all students from grades K-12 for college and careers.
Making Career Readiness Count
The purpose of this brief is to ensure that the “career” in states’ college- and career-ready standards is not an afterthought but features prominently in states’ accountability and public reporting systems. The brief examines how states are currently using career-focused indicators in...
Raising the Bar: Implementing Common Core State Standards for Latino Student Success
The purpose of this implementation guide is to inform state education leaders on key elements and questions that will help them build effective strategies to ensure educational success for Latino and English language learner (ELL) children and families. The National Council of La Raza (NCLR)...
Capacity Enablers and Barriers for Learning Analytics: Implications for Policy and Practice
Learning analytics, as defined in this report, is “the measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs.” This report describes learning analytics initiatives...
A New Vision for Accountability
Student assessments face challenges of quality, cost, and appropriate use, writes scholar Linda Darling-Hammond. Written for school board members, this article is brief and to the point about ensuring and implementing the use of high-quality assessments (a topic covered in numerous publications by...
Using Student Growth Percentiles During the Assessment Transition: Technical, Practical and Political Implications
This paper highlights technical, practical, and policy considerations for using growth percentiles during the assessment transition (generally 2014 to 2015) period to support state accountability efforts, and it recommends analyses and guidelines to help inform decisions in light of these...