The Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten Assessment tab of the State of the States section of the Center on Standards and Assessment Implementation (CSAI) website provides information on the design, development, and implementation of state-funded pre-kindergarten and kindergarten assessments that are intended to measure school readiness, both before and…

This issue of "ZDM Mathematics Education" focuses on the formative assessment of young children's mathematical thinking, with an emphasis on computer-based approaches drawing upon on cognitive and educational research. The authors discuss several different assessment methods, including clinical interviewing, observation, and testing,…

Effective teaching has long been an issue of national concern, but in recent years focus on the effectiveness of programs to produce high-quality teachers has sharpened. Long-standing achievement gaps persist despite large-scale legislative changes at the federal and state levels, and American students continue to show poorer performance on…

Morgan, Hodge, Trepinski, and Anderson (2014) have written an article that continues to confirm what we have known for some time-teacher effects on student achievement have limited stability. In this commentary, we address the other potential contributions this work can make to inform practice, policy, and research. While illustrating Morgan et…

The authors address considerations and promising practices relating to assessment of d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing Multilingual Learners. DMLs' unique culture(s), language(s), and learning needs must be considered when assessments of this population are being planned, conducted, and interpreted. The authors address theory and research on (a) general…

This article describes the changing culture of a public school as members of its community explore new ways of being accountable to progressive ideals in an age of skills-based learning and standardized testing. Using documentation makes adult and student learning visible in and outside the classroom, supporting three forms of accountability: (a)…

Educators know that standardized tests are a fact of life. They can produce useful information, but the results often are too late, too shallow or not what they needed to find out. Research shows that administering more and more of these types of tests does nothing to raise student achievement. Instead, if educators want to see real gains in…

"Classroom Assessment in Action" clarifies the multi-faceted roles of measurement and assessment and their applications in a classroom setting. Comprehensive in scope, Shermis and Di Vesta explain basic measurement concepts and show students how to interpret the results of standardized tests. From these basic concepts, the authors then…

The focus on grades and what they represent happens in every middle grades classroom--some students completely understand the concepts when reviewed, but perform poorly on the quiz; some gifted students score high on tests but appear bored in class. With the current emphasis on school accountability by standardized test scores, middle level…

Sustainability is a contemporary term that calls attention to climate change and dwindling natural resources. Concerned about the urgency of sustainability and the long-range impact that non-sustainable efforts could have on the environment, and convinced that sustainable concepts could be taught to young children, the authors introduced an…

Briefly describes three new research studies focusing on the following aspects of teaching: planning, standardized tests, and teacher observation. (CM)

Test sessions and child clinical interviews offer opportunities for direct observations of children's behavior in controlled settings. Moreover, standardized instruments for test session and interview observations offer more reliable and valid assessment methods than do anecdotal reports. This article reviews characteristics and psychometric…

Assessment of student performance in nursing education takes many forms: (1) the Real Clinical Situation Model; (2) the Quasi-Clinical Situation Model; (3) the Clinical Laboratory Simulation Model; and (4) the Clinicam Video Simulation Model. The New York Regents External Degree Program has a highly developed method of examining the proficiency of…

Discusses the work of Susan Isaacs on assessing and recording the progress of infant school children in Britain between 1934 and 1936. Compares Isaacs' approach to that advocated in a 1992 book on assessment in early childhood education edited by Blenkin and Kelly. Concludes that Isaacs' work still has a contribution to make to educational…

This report presents the Arkansas edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's 2008 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook." The 2008 "Yearbook" focuses on how state policies impact the retention of effective new teachers. This policy evaluation is broken down into three areas that encompass 15 goals. Broadly, these goals…