Concerns about academic standards, whether created by states from scratch or adopted by states under the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) banner, have drawn widespread media attention and are at the top of many state policymakers' priority lists. Recently, a number of legislatures have required additional steps, such as waiting periods for…

This article discusses how Roland G. Tharp and his colleagues from the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, & Excellence, a federal research center at the University of California, identify methods to help "nonmainstream" pupils make academic gains. Tharp has identified five standards that he says mark effective instruction…

Due to the high stakes that my be attached to placement decisions, it is imperative that the placement process be as solid and defensible as possible. An integral part of the placement process is the identification and use of cut scores, the point(s) on the score scale that classify students into adjacent categories for placement decisions. This…