Great things happen when students are able to focus on their learning instead of their scores. However, assessment reform, including standards-based grading, remains a hotly debated issue in education. "Going Gradeless" shows that it is possible to teach and assess without the stress of traditional grading practices. Sharing their…

Little is known empirically about intraclass correlations (ICCs) for multisite cluster randomized trial (MSCRT) designs, particularly in science education. In this study, ICCs suitable for science achievement studies using a three-level (students in schools in districts) MSCRT design that block on district are estimated and examined. Estimates of…

Noncognitive characteristics are gaining importance in addressing the persistent challenges facing youth in diverse settings. Measurement invariance of two youth developmental assets, Support and Positive Identity, is evaluated across grade levels and English language learner (ELL) subgroups of Latino students in 6th through 12th grade.…

The Berge et al. article in this volume presents the functional construct of writing that underlies summative and formative assessment of writing as a key competency in Norway. A functional construct implies that specific acts of writing and their purposes constrain what is a relevant selection among the semiotic resources that writing generally…

Research on factors that may promote engagement is hampered by the absence of a measure of classroom-level engagement. Literature has suggested that engagement may have 3 dimensions--affective, behavioral, and cognitive. No existing engagement scales measure all 3 dimensions at the classroom level. The Classroom Engagement Inventory (CEI) was…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between student mathematics performance of 4th, 8th, and 11th grade students in Nebraska and the mode of test administration, online and paper-pencil. Schools were allowed to select the mode of test administration for their school with some exceptions for students needing…

This study explored the relationships among the components of the Arizona Department of Education's new teacher evaluation model, with a particular focus on the extent to which ratings from the state model's teacher observation instrument differentiated higher and lower performance. The study used teacher-level evaluation data collected by the…