Institutions of higher education are asked to consider how their work can advance equity in institutional outcomes. Assessment, too, has been asked to consider the ways in which traditional student assessment "privileges and validates certain types of learning and evidence of learning over others" (Montenegro and Jankowski 2017, p. 5).…

This document is written primarily for policy makers and state department of education staff who are considering through-year assessments, as well as consultants and contractors state departments rely on. The document identifies essential things to consider when designing or evaluating a through-year assessment program. The paper is organized into…

This brief draws upon its companion report, "Harnessing Micro-credentials for Teacher Growth: A National Review of Early Best Practices," as well as New America's previous work on educator micro-credentials, to outline a set of model policy proposals for states to effectively incorporate high-quality micro-credentials into educator…

In March 2019, The New Mexico Public Education Department (NM PED) convened thirteen statewide community engagements to gather public input to reimagine the state assessment system. Following these community input meetings, the NM PED convened the New Mexico Task Force for Student Success (Task Force), which was comprised of key education…

In this summary article, six recommendations for the design, implementation, and interpretation of educational evaluations are presented and discussed. These recommendations are based on common "threads" that run through most, if not all, of the papers included in this special issue. The recommendations concern (1) the need for awareness…

How do educators at a systems level know that professional learning is impacting teacher practice in a way that leads to improved student outcomes? California's Long Beach Unified School District, a member of Learning Forward's Redesign PD Community of Practice, partnered with other districts from across the country to answer that question. As…

The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) marked the beginning of a new development cycle for accountability systems. State leaders once again have an opportunity to redesign their accountability systems based on the provisions included in ESSA and to ensure that systems improve outcomes for all students. The correct identification of…

Explore the practical steps teacher teams must take to establish clear, comprehensive assessment systems that guide instruction and strengthen PLCs. This book has the capacity to reignite passion and energy assessment practices bring as tools to guide teaching and learning. Strengthen instructional agility in professional learning communities with…

This special issue of "JEDM" was dedicated to bridging work done in the disciplines of "educational and psychological assessment" and "educational data mining" (EDM) via the assessment design and implementation framework of "evidence-centered design" (ECD). It consisted of a series of five papers: one…

In recent years the educational community has increasingly embraced digital technologies for the purposes of developing alternative learning environments, providing diagnostic feedback, and fostering the development of so-called 21st-century skills. This special issue is dedicated to bridging recent work from the disciplines of educational and…

Grantmakers for Education's Principles for Effective Education Grantmaking identify "innovation" and "constant learning" as a core proposition for achieving results in education philanthropy. To illustrate this principle, "Learning by Doing" examines the Noyce Foundation's efforts to apply new information to its…

The Indiana Choice Scholarship Program has the potential to be the largest school voucher program in the country. Though the authorizing legislation capped enrollment in the program at 7,500 for its first year (the 2011-12 school year), that cap was increased to 15,000 for this year, and will be removed for all subsequent years. With careful…

Achieving learning standards is at the forefront of current educational philosophy, and is the goal of sound educational practice. That "all children can learn" and there will be "no child left behind" presume that teaching and assessment practices must benefit all children. Agreement in principle is nearly universal. Practical implementation,…

This paper describes the proposed Assessment Center at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York. The center is intended to provide statistical and technical support for the Mercy College elementary education, special education, and speech and hearing departments in the areas of student assessment, student guidance, and program evaluation. Evaluation…

Discusses the status of environmental education at the primary level in Sudan, reviews the objectives, content, methodology, and evaluation strategies of an environmental education program that was implemented with primary age students. Reports that pupil improvement in scholastic achievement and behavior followed after participation in the…