The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has implemented a student accountability system that measures students' performance on the State of Texas Assessment for Academic Readiness (STAAR) in several content areas. Therefore, teachers and administrators all over the state are always seeking ways to ensure that students are academically well prepared.…

How do attitudes and beliefs about assessment affect teaching and learning in your school? This document is intended to help school and district leaders understand these dynamics. While it is not designed for use as a step-by-step toolkit to support evaluation, this document does provide a foundation for leaders to learn more about their school or…

In the dynamic academic landscape of the 21st century, the imperative to equip engineering students with robust critical reading skills, in tandem with their technical expertise, has come to the forefront. Recognizing the intrinsic value of critical thinking and reading in cultivating an ethos of lifelong learning among future engineers, this…

These are the appendixes for the report, "Trends and Gaps in Reading Achievement across Kindergarten and Grade 1 in Two Illinois School Districts." This study examined reading achievement data for kindergarten and grade 1 students in two districts in Illinois: District U-46 (Elgin Area Schools) and District 186 (Springfield Public…

Written instructions seldom need to be read when playing videogames. Instead, gaming often involves early information foraging and expansive exploration behaviors. We use data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to explore whether students who regularly play videogames (daily gamers) adopt behaviors that are typical of…

In fall 2017, Propel Schools initiated the expansion of one of its schools, Propel Montour. Originally a single K-8 school with two classrooms per grade, Montour added a new high school and expanded into separate elementary and middle schools over four years, adding a classroom to each grade. In this report, the authors used…

To assess education progress in the early grades and identify achievement gaps, this study examined reading achievement data for kindergarten and grade 1 students in two districts in Illinois: District U-46 (Elgin Area Schools) and District 186 (Springfield Public Schools). Drawing on a different reading assessment in each district, the study team…

This publication is intended for use by school administrators and counselors. It provides general information on Regents Examinations as well as the specific requirements and procedures for requesting, administering, and rating these examinations. This manual is comprised of the following sections: (1) General Information; (2) Requesting and…

Most students seeking to enroll in community college are required to take a placement test for math and English courses. Administrators are well aware of the shortcomings of using traditional placement tests alone, and state and college systems across the country are organizing multiple measures assessment (MMA) placement systems that will…

This case study provides superintendents, principals, and teachers with information on how three school systems have used an assessment developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)--the OECD Test for Schools--to monitor students' academic outcomes and inform shifts in policy and teacher practice to meet students'…

In statehouses, school boards, and communities across the US, battles are raging over the direction of education policy--from the standards that are shaping what students learn to how test results are being used to judge a teacher's performance. These battles are being waged against a backdrop of shifting demographics, rapidly developing…

Making decisions about English reading instruction is as core a component to teaching as providing the instruction itself. When providing support to learners at risk for poor reading outcomes, for which currently there is a large percentage in South Africa, it is especially important to ensure that the decisions that are made have the highest…

This report illustrates how four high-performing systems--British Columbia (Canada), Hong Kong, Shanghai (China) and Singapore--developed their teacher professional learning. The report and accompanying materials are designed as a resource for teachers, school leaders and policymakers wanting to improve teacher professional learning in their…

Our 32nd annual report analyzing data from southeast Wisconsin's public school districts finds progress on some college readiness indicators and largely positive showings on district report cards. Those results are offset, however, by discouraging results on standardized tests and continued substantial achievement gaps between students of…

Presented at the AP Annual Conference (APAC) in Las Vegas, NV in July 2013. This analysis takes a close look at first-generation Advanced Placement® (AP®) test takers to better understand the needs and challenges they face on their path to college. The analysis focuses on college-bound AP test takers who also took the SAT and examines a variety of…