Widespread technical failures and interruptions of recent online testing in a number of states have shaken the confidence of educators and policymakers in high-tech assessment methods and raised serious concerns about schools' technological readiness for the coming common-core online tests. The glitches arose as many districts in the 46 states…

Figuring out how to use digital tools to transform testing requires a willingness to invest in new technologies and the patience to experiment with novel approaches, a commitment to ongoing professional development and reliable technical support, and an openness to learn from mistakes. Whatever bumpy ride this technological journey takes, experts…

Emerging technology and research on learning have the potential to dramatically improve assessments, if educators and policymakers take a more balanced approach to using them. That's the conclusion of two years of analysis by the Gordon Commission on the Future of Assessment in Education, a panel of top education research and policy experts that…

Champions of students with disabilities have long complained that those students are often an afterthought in state testing plans. Only after a test design is completed are educators asked to go back and adapt the questions for a student who is blind, who needs help accessing text or calculating numbers, or who must use a specialized device to…

Educators often look for ways to bring quiet children out of their shells, but emerging research suggests schools can improve academic outcomes for introverted students by reducing the pressure to be outgoing and giving all students a little more time to reflect. A 2011 study found teachers from across K-12 rated hypothetical quiet children as…

One of the chief architects of the Common Core State Standards was named the next president of the College Board and said one of his top priorities is to reshape the organization's influential college-admissions test, the SAT, to better reflect the new standards. David Coleman will assume his new duties on Oct. 15, replacing Gaston Caperton, who…

Following a push to make "the nation's report card" better reflect the academic performance of all children in America's schools, most states boosted the numbers of students with disabilities and English-language learners who participated in the 2011 reading and math tests that are part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).…

As school districts strive to put more technology into schools to support 1-to-1 computing initiatives and prepare for the common-core online assessments, the federal E-rate program is in danger of becoming as outdated and insufficient as a sputtering dial-up connection in a Wi-Fi world. While the program can boast great success since its…

Opponents of the Common Core State Standards are ramping up legislative pressure and public relations efforts aimed at getting states to scale back--or even abandon--the high-profile initiative, even as implementation proceeds and tests aligned with the standards loom. Critics of the common core have focused recent lobbying and media efforts on…

As test designers work to craft the new, common assessments set to debut in most of the nation's public schools in the 2014-15 school year, their goal is to provide all English-language learners (ELLs), regardless of their language-proficiency levels, the same opportunities to demonstrate their content knowledge and skills as their peers who are…

At a time when U.S. political and business leaders are raising concerns about the need to better nurture creativity and innovative thinking among young people, several states are exploring the development of an index that would gauge the extent to which schools provide opportunities to foster those qualities. In Massachusetts, a new state…

A patchwork of testing accommodations is used in the nation's public schools to help students with disabilities and those still learning English show their command of academic content, just as their general education peers do. The list of accommodations--providing extra time, allowing the use of dictionaries, and reading test directions aloud, to…

Despite a pending policy change aimed at including more students with disabilities and English-language learners (ELLs) in the "nation's report card," the federal agency that administers the national testing program appears to be softening the penalty for states that fail to improve inclusion rates. The disagreement underscores the…

With the debut of common assessments less than two years away, states and districts are worried about the accountability systems that hinge on those tests. A growing chorus of policy groups is urging more flexibility in how states evaluate teachers, label schools, and enforce other high-stakes consequences during what's likely to be a messy…

With just months to go until the nation's overhauled K-12 law goes into effect, state policymakers are still scrambling to firm up the infrastructure for their education systems, under the new blueprint laid out in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). They're doing it at a time of political change and policy uncertainty at the national level,…