Educational equity is understood as the recognition of a school system to ensure resources to safeguard that all students have equitable access, opportunity, and outcomes (Galloway & Ishimaru, 2015). Yet inequity persists in the American educational system. School accountability remains at the forefront of education policy to ensure equitable…

The global pandemic prompted universities to rethink how assessment might be reconfigured to better support student learning across different modes of delivery resulting in unprecedented, large-scale, and rapid institutional change. Significantly, there has been a dearth of empirical studies examining the nuances of staff experiences of how they…

State education systems in the U.S. experienced major disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from assessments administered during, and at the conclusion of, the 2020-21 school year indicate substantial 'unfinished learning', with the losses generally greater among disadvantaged and marginalized students. States' assessment systems are…

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the United States and around the world, school systems everywhere are in crisis management, with education leaders and teachers struggling to provide continuous instruction via combinations of in-person, virtual, and hybrid learning modes. A fundamental and familiar question centers on the…

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…

Competency-based education systems hold promise for maximizing high-quality teaching and learning for the growth of all students. Such systems, if well designed and implemented, can serve critical equity aims by ensuring that all students are supported in meeting key learning and development targets. Competency-based education systems, however,…

As educators confront the challenge of remediating COVID-19 learning loss--and policymakers wrestle with measuring it amid widespread discontent with testing--now is an apt time to consider how much of the current accountability and assessment regime is truly necessary. This report examines the state of testing post-March 2020 and explores how a…

According to Lorrie A. Shepard, claims that testing will serve equity very often are not true. From minimum competency tests in the '70s; basic-skills tests in the '80s; "tests worth teaching to" in the '90s; high-frequency, high-stakes tests in the '00s; and added layers of commercial interim tests in the '10s, it seems it has…

Assessment of student learning is typically undertaken with at least two goals in mind, accountability and improvement. This dichotomy of purpose has dogged assessment from the outset (Ewell, 2009) and contributed to conflicted or incomplete ends. As Banta and Palomba (2015) concluded, assessment undertaken primarily to comply with accountability…

The assessment landscape is varied and complex. Because assessments serve many purposes, they can take multiple forms depending on what they are measuring and how they are used. The intended purpose behind each assessment influences its design, and the design influences how assessment data can be used by students and their families, school,…

Although the importance of assessment on education is undebatable, the intentions of assessors while conducting assessment haven't been studied yet in detail. To this end, this study aimed to disclose pre-service and in-service English teachers' conceptions of assessment. In the study, conception of assessment was categorized under four main…

Although the importance of assessment on education is undebatable, the intentions of assessors while conducting assessment haven't been studied yet in detail. To this end, this study aimed to disclose pre-service and in- service English teachers' conceptions of assessment. In the study, conception of assessment was categorized under four main…

Assessment is a major component of education, significant in directing what is identified as valued student learning. This paper is framed within an understanding of imperative and exhortative policy. Two paradigmatically different, and potentially contesting, assessment policy directions in Australian education -- educational accountability to…

Standardized testing remains the predominant proficiency measure for students and schools, placing teacher and student focus on test-prep and lower order skills while maintaining achievement gaps that penalize underserved students. The Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Assessment seeks to close this gap and change assessment measures on a…

Several national testing processes, involving the administration of standardised tests, are implemented widely worldwide to provide individual summative and formative assessment and/or monitor the quality of educational systems. The longitudinal national Programme for Functional Literacy (PfL) in Cyprus resembles a primarily formative testing…