From 2006 to 2008, Educational Testing Service (ETS) produced a series of reports titled "A Culture of Evidence," designed to capture a changing climate in higher education assessment. A decade later, colleges and universities already face new and different challenges resulting from societal, technological, and scientific influences.…

Over the past decade, RTI International has pursued the goal of quality, inclusive, differentiated early grade literacy instruction in nearly 30 early grade reading or early grade literacy programs in low- and middle-income (LMI) countries. Across our diverse portfolio, we have supported Ministries of Education (Ministries) in diverse contexts in…

Accountability has become a primary function of large-scale testing in the United States. The pressure on educators to raise scores is vastly greater than it was several decades ago. Research has shown that high-stakes testing can generate behavioral responses that inflate scores, often severely. I argue that because of these responses, using…

Over the past 30 years, more and more independent schools have established academic support programs and learning centers to address their students' individual learning needs. Perhaps not surprisingly, as the number of students being evaluated has increased, even more families have requested academic accommodations and services for their children.…

This study constitutes the secondary analysis of data collected as part of classroom instruction in a prior practitioner inquiry study. Consequently, IRB approval, parental consent, and participant assent for the present study were obtained after the conclusion of the original study.

In the 2014-15 school year, 47 states are administering high school assessments to gauge students' mastery of college and career readiness standards in English language arts (ELA) and math. These new assessments represent a departure from prior high school exams that measured acquisition of high school (or lower) content but provided no actionable…

In the present offering we challenge the presumption that the educational testing of students provides objective information about such students. This presumption largely rests on an empiricist account of science. In light of mounting criticism, however, empiricist foundationalism has given way to a social epistemology. From this standpoint,…

Many states have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which emphasize "deeper learning" skills, such as mastery of core academic content, critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration. But can the new tests being developed to align with the CCSS be used to promote deeper learning and high-quality classroom instruction?…

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) is one of the world's leading educational research centres. ACER's mission is to create and promote research-based knowledge, products and services that can be used to improve learning across the life span. This annual report describes ACER's milestones and accomplishments for the 2013-2014…

Since the time of Sputnik, American educators and policymakers have recognized the need to raise expectations by increasing rigor in high schools across the United States. Copious studies attest to the fact that students who take Advanced Placement coursework experience success in college (Adelman, 1999; Camara, 2003; College Board, 2005;…

This article reviews research on changes in teachers' workplace relations in a policy context that increasingly emphasizes accountability. The findings indicate that a greater focus on testing and student performance often leads to less attention to the caring and relational aspects of teachers' work. Prevailing and enduring ideas about teachers'…

Choosing whether to test via computer is the most difficult and consequential decision the designers of a testing program can make. The decision is difficult because of the wide range of choices available. Designers can choose where and how often the test is made available, how the test items look and function, how those items are combined into…

The Hewlett Foundation commissioned RAND to review research about the effects of assessment and to summarize what is known about assessment as a lever for reform. To explore the likely influence of new assessments on teaching practice and the conditions that moderate that relationship, researchers conducted a series of literature reviews. The…

The 2012 presidential election and many state and local races are only a few weeks away, but schools are not doing much to promote student interest in the elections or provide civic education more broadly, new research suggests. A report last week from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), at Tufts…

This article presents a review on three books that have been published from positions of considerable authority on educational developments in the USA and England over the past two decades. All of the authors have considerable knowledge, not only of policy making at the top but also of the ways in which this interacts with and impacts upon…