The promotion and measurement of standards in compulsory education systems has been a prominent feature of Western education systems for centuries. But the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) have made the limits of current standards-based approaches to assessment more evident. Louis Volante, Don A. Klinger, and…

Traditional teacher evaluations -- full-lesson observations, write-ups, and debriefs -- are time-consuming and largely ineffective. As a principal, Kim Marshall found that mini-observations -- short, frequent, unannounced classroom visits, each followed by a face-to-face coaching conversation and brief narrative summary -- actually improved…

Rudy Ruiz and Faith Connolly propose a new accountability measure that captures the percentage of students in a school that have a teacher of a similar ethno-racial background. The measure would hold school districts accountable for the percentage of students who have a teacher who looks like them. Adding this measure would bring attention to…

Parents and the public use accountability data to judge if schools are doing a good or a bad job educating their students. However, using the current data, schools perceived as "good" tend to be in better-resourced districts and enroll higher percentages of wealthy and white students. Schools perceived as "bad" tend to be in…

Tests and exams are a source of stress for many students. High school teacher Jacob Wells has found that he can alleviate some of that stress by allowing students to weigh in on when their assessments are scheduled. He describes why this has been helpful and shares some of the parameters that have made it feasible.

Shifts in the education system to more student-centered learning will require state and local education agencies to rethink how they do their work. Current accountability systems focus on compliance with standards, as demonstrated in annual summative assessments. Mark Elgart explains that a new approach to accountability will offer more authentic…

The COVID-19 pandemic led states and districts to take a break from grading students and pause standardized testing. As part of an ongoing series of articles on how schools might reconceptualize their work, William Penuel considers what kinds of assessment practices should be carried forward, as schools attempt to become more equitable. He…

Reality TV -- or certain design-oriented TV shows -- may be better known for their focus on competition, but what we actually see when we look more closely are models of collaboration and assessment that can illuminate important principles of classroom learning. Erin Furtak reflects on the ways that three of these shows -- The Great British Baking…

Student-directed projects are a promising approach to supporting powerful learning, yet uncertainty about how to assess these projects presents a barrier to widespread incorporation in K-12 classrooms. Drawing on interviews with computer science teachers and an interdisciplinary literature review, Karen Brennan, Sarah Blum-Smith, and Paulina…

Using narrow test scores as the only means of accountability does not serve students, teachers, or schools. Jonathan E. Collins writes that policy makers and educators should consider accountability as an education system designed to be accountable to the best version of students. This means assessing outcomes that policy makers too easily…

Recent lawsuits reveal common mistakes plaguing current teacher evaluation systems. Drawing on arguments in court documents for prominent cases, the authors find that evaluation systems using value-added measures (VAM) suffer from a) inconsistent and unreliable teacher ratings, b) bias toward and against teachers of certain types of students, c)…

When students have a strong sense of belonging in their school community, they are more likely to thrive academically. In a study of 55,000 secondary school students across the United States, Challenge Success found further evidence of the bilateral relationship between students' experiences of academic engagement and their sense of belonging,…

As states consider non-academic measures of school quality for their accountability plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act, few are choosing to focus on the school climate in which students learn. That's not a surprise, given concerns about the validity and usefulness of existing climate surveys. However, the authors argue, a recent study…

The move toward assessments that measure student growth, rather than just proficiency, has been perceived as an improvement in state accountability systems. However, Michael Watson explains that, for many students, these measures present an incomplete picture. Because they are based on grade-level assessments, any growth achieved by students who…

Videos are often used for demonstration and evaluation, but a more productive approach would be using video to support teachers' ability to notice and interpret classroom interactions. That requires thinking carefully about the physical aspects of shooting video--where the camera is placed and how easily student interactions can be heard--as well…