The purpose of educational assessments is to provide an academic check-up and to give educators and parents meaningful information on what students know and can do, and how well they are progressing toward college and career readiness. Assessments strive to show how well students perform on clearly defined standards and skills that are being…

As state and national curriculum standards continue to change, it is important for teachers to develop a common set of definitions for terms that appear in those standards. This column describes the four modes of discourse--narrative, descriptive, exposition, and persuasion--and links them to a variety of genres students can write in to compose…

West Virginia uses multiple state assessments to measure student achievement and inform program decision-making. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 requires participation of students with disabilities in statewide assessments to be consistent with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 and current with…

West Virginia uses multiple state assessments to measure student achievement and inform program decision making. States are required to provide guidance for appropriate participation of all students, including those with English Learners and those with disabilities, in required state assessments. The West Virginia Department of Education has…

West Virginia uses multiple state assessments to measure student achievement and inform program decision making. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) requires participation of students with disabilities in statewide assessments to be consistent with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001…

The purpose of this technical assistance paper is to provide a description of the procedures used to determine school grades for the 2014 school year. Florida's current school accountability system originated with state legislation passed in 1999 (the "A+ Plan") and has been revised periodically to reflect increased standards and…

Develop your students' critical thinking skills and prepare them to perform competitively in the classroom, on state tests, and beyond. In this book, Moore and Stanley show you how to effectively instruct your students to think on higher levels, and how to assess their progress. As states move toward common achievement standards, teachers have…

This article explores changes in multicultural knowledge and skill to which beginning art teachers are held accountable through standardized teacher testing in Texas. Standardized testing of preservice art teachers' knowledge and skill has been the basis of the state's certification of beginning art teachers and accreditation of art teacher…

Current research on the teaching of writing puts some secondary English teachers in a bind. While many teachers understand that the best ways for students to develop into strong writers is to encourage them to select personally relevant topics, de-emphasize mechanics, and provide opportunities to take risks, the message they receive from state and…

Subject-matter experts reviewed the content, rigor, and clarity of the first public drafts of the "Common Core" standards released in September 2009 by the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) of the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers. Using the same criteria, the same experts also…

The Council of Chief State School Officers' "Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate the Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities" was first developed to establish guidelines for states to use for the selection, administration, and evaluation of accommodations for…

Kindergarten has changed significantly in the last two decades: children now spend more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play and exploration, exercising their bodies, and using their imaginations. Many kindergartens use highly prescriptive curricula geared to new state standards and linked to…

The National Standards movement seeks to raise the quality of the American educational system. According to one of its chief architects, Diane Ravitch (2000), national standards give clear expectations for students, teachers, parents, colleges, and employers that will result in improved student achievement. Forty-nine of the fifty states (save…

This CD ROM is designed for use by teachers singly or in groups. It may also be used by technical assistance providers preparing to work with teachers. The CD ROM provides an interactive tool to help teachers analyze and interpret standardized test data, use data to plan for effective instruction, develop classroom assessments that align with…

Students learn best when they interact with new information on a personal level. It is a challenge for teachers to tightly align student experiences with the standards assessed on high-stakes tests. To achieve this goal in social studies, the author has turned increasingly to simulations where students find such activities engaging, and their…