Specifications grading is a version of mastery grading distinguished by giving students clear specifications that their work must meet, and grading most things pass/fail based on those specifications. Mastery grading systems can get quite elaborate, with hierarchies of objectives and various systems for rewriting and retesting. In this article I…

Professional societies (ProSs) are instrumental in shaping science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) cultural norms. Existing legacy structures designed to serve majority groups and constructed in service of dominant norms and values present a clear obstacle to attracting, retaining, and serving minoritized STEM professionals, such…

This technical brief describes the easyCBM® Spanish language Vocabulary assessments added to the easyCBM® system in the fall of 2018 and provides the initial norms for the fall and winter assessments. These norms should be interpreted with caution, as the sample was smaller than ideal, particularly for the Winter norms.

As part of "The Wallace Foundation's Principal Pipeline" initiative, six districts have been working to reshape their school leadership evaluation systems to provide better and more consistent feedback to principals--and ultimately to help them grow in their jobs. In this article, Pamela Mendels, a senior editor at Wallace, describes the…

All students deserve to attend programs and institutions that meet high quality standards. But different program goals, investments of time, and eligibility criteria make it difficult to set specific standards that will apply equally well to all types of programs and institutions. This report sets out principles for developing an accountability…

Individualized education program (IEP) goals and objectives often provide illogical or insufficient methodological detail (e.g., Capizzi, 2008). Insufficient methods can lead to ambiguity among the staff members responsible for data collection or to data that fail to take into account factors that can affect performance or behavioral expression…

The Domain Five Observation Instrument (DFOI) is a competency-based observation instrument recommended for sport leaders or researchers who wish to evaluate coaches' instructional behaviors. The DFOI includes 10 behavior categories and four timed categories that encompass 34 observable instructional benchmarks outlined in domain five of the…

The PM Benchmark Reading Assessment Resource (PM Benchmarks) provides information about primary students' level of achievement in reading accurately, fluently, and in understanding unseen texts. As part of the assessment, students have to orally retell what they have read and orally answer comprehension questions. This oral use of language…

This technical assistance paper provides policy and guidance to individuals with test administration responsibilities in adult education programs. The Florida assessment policies and guidelines presented in this technical assessment paper are appropriate for state and federal reporting. Therefore, guidance and procedures regarding the selection…

Student achievement growth data are increasingly used for assessing teacher effectiveness and tracking student achievement in the classroom. Guided by the student learning objective (SLO) framework, music teachers are now responsible for collecting, tracking, and reporting student growth data. Often, the reported data do not accurately reflect the…

This technical assistance paper provides policy and guidance to individuals with test administration responsibilities in adult education programs. The Florida assessment policies and guidelines presented in this paper are appropriate for state and federal reporting. Therefore, guidance and procedures regarding the selection and use of appropriate…

This technical assistance paper provides policy and guidance to individuals with test administration responsibilities in adult education programs. Rule 6A-6.014, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), titled, General Requirements for Adult General Education Programs, requires all adult education programs to report all student measurable educational…

This paper aims to translate for practitioners the principles and methods for evaluating screening measures in education, including benchmark goals and cut points, from our technical manuscript "Evaluation of Diagnostic Systems: The Selection of Students at Risk of Academic Difficulties" (this issue). We offer a brief description of…

The Quality Matters™ (QM) Program is utilized by over 700 colleges and universities to ensure that online course design meets standards imperative to student success in a Web-based classroom. Although a faculty-driven peer-review process, QM provides assessment from a student perspective, thereby identifying opportunities for improvement that may…

Education systems are increasingly creating rich, longitudinal data sets with frequent, and even real-time, data updates of many student measures, including daily attendance, homework submissions, and exam scores. These data sets provide an opportunity for district and school staff members to move beyond an indicators-based approach and instead…