There has been a call for balanced assessment systems which resulted from a recognition that most state summative assessments poorly served the primary purpose of assessment: improving learning and instruction. Educators understand that large-scale summative tests are far too distal from instruction, at the wrong grain size, and administered at…

Because educator licensure is gained by passing licensure examinations in most states, scores on high stakes tests are determining factors as to who will be teaching in America's classrooms. Due to a focus on program graduation rates, state funding cuts, and production of quality teachers, it is vital that teacher preparation programs produce the…

There has been a major shift in educational learning goals--as seen most recently by Goal 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals--focused on global citizenship education and education for sustainable development. The shift concerns recognition of the need for education systems to equip learners with competencies such as problem solving,…

The purpose of this correlational study was to analyze the relationships of various performance variables of pre-service teachers enrolled in a teacher preparation program at Delta State University from fall 2009 to spring 2012. For this group of teacher candidates, the following relationships were analyzed: (a) the significance of the…

This book contains the full text of papers and posters presented at the International Conference on Education and New Developments (END 2020), organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.), that this year had to be transformed into a fully Virtual Conference as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic.…

A particular trait of the educational system under socialist reign was accountability at the input side--appropriate facilities, centrally decided curriculum, approved text-books, and uniformly trained teachers--but no control on the output. It was simply assumed that it met the agreed standards, which was, in turn, proven by the statistics…

This 2016 directory identifies, describes, and contains evaluative data evidence-based practices that improve academic performance, close the achievement gap, and improve persistence towards graduation for low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented 6th grade through college students. The directory was a production of the…

In many school districts, the pressure to raise test scores has created overnight celebrity status for formative assessment. Its powers to raise student achievement have been touted, however, without attending to the research on which these claims were based. Sociocultural learning theory provides theoretical grounding for understanding how…

This paper discusses issues related to the teaching and assessment of 21st century skills and competencies in OECD countries drawing on the findings of a questionnaire study and other relevant background material such as white papers or curriculum documents. Although all OECD countries were invited to participate in the questionnaire survey,…

The social studies curriculum should be assessed continuously to bring in the latest research, trends, and recommendations of experts. A survey of teachers, administrators, parents, and other community members may be conducted to determine preferences for the curriculum. An effort should be made to decide what is in the curriculum and what should…

To support K-12 students with significant disabilities and get an accurate picture of their skills and knowledge, schools need to implement effective alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). This is the guidebook every team should have--not only to develop successful AA-AAS linked with grade-level content standards,…

Five interrelated papers that explore the theme of validity within the context of cross-national assessments are grouped in this collection. These papers were presented at a symposium at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. These papers draw on data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).…

Three commonly used means of assessment of student achievement are discussed. First, standardized tests are often used to assess student achievement. These tests are developed by professional testing and measurement specialists who are completely removed from the local student and classroom. There are many objections to the use of standardized…

Recently, educational evaluation has attempted to use the precision, objectivity, and mathematical rigor of the psychological measurement field as well as to find ways in which instrumentation and data utilization could more directly be related to educational institutions, educational processes, and educational purposes. The linkages between…