High-quality assessments are vital for ensuring a sound and equitable education for all students. Tests are used to measure what students know and can do, and this information is very important for both instructional and accountability purposes. This brief, which should be read as a complement to "High-Quality College and Career Ready…

Analysis of student-level data to inform policy and promote student success is a core function of executive higher education agencies. Postsecondary data systems have expanded their collection of data elements for use by policymakers, institutional staff, and the general public. State coordinating and governing boards use these data systems for…

Traditionally, there has been a large gap between the scientific and educational communities in terms of communication, which hinders the transfer of new scientific knowledge to teachers and students and the understanding of each other's needs and capabilities. In this paper, we describe a workshop model we have developed to facilitate…

In order for simulations and games to be effective for learning, instructional designers must verify that the underlying computational models being used have an appropriate degree of fidelity to the conceptual models of their real-world counterparts. A simulation/game that provides incorrect feedback is likely to promote misunderstanding and…

Surprisingly, the debate over +/- grade systems seems to occur, largely, at the college and university level. Few middle and high schools seem to have taken on the issue, at least in any way that appears in the public literature. Other opinions suggest that it is the discriminating quality of plus/minus grading systems that make them useful. A…

In this study we examine parents' and teachers' perceptions of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) quality in Finland. The study is based on the paradigm of inclusionary quality and the assessment is based on the quality evaluation model. The parents and teachers assess the quality to be good. The strength of the quality was the effect…

In this paper we discuss a study on the approaches to modeling of students of the 4-year elementary school teacher program at the University of Palermo, Italy. The answers to a specially designed questionnaire are analyzed on the basis of an "a priori" analysis made using a general scheme of reference on the epistemology of mathematics…

In this forum, I expand upon Teo and Osborne's discussion of teacher agency and curriculum reform. I take up and build upon their analysis to further examine one teacher's frustration in enacting an inquiry-based curriculum and his resulting accommodation of an AP curriculum. In this way I introduce the concept of misrecognition (Bourdieu and…

The article discusses current evaluation methodologies used to assess the usability, user enjoyment, and pedagogical efficacy of virtual learning environments (VLEs) and serious games. It also describes the evaluations of two recently developed projects: a virtual learning environment that employs a fantasy 3D world to engage deaf and hearing…

Student-directed teaching and assessment techniques are gradually dominating educational systems almost all over the world. This study investigated a cohort of male and female Iranian EFL students' attitudes toward self-, peer-, and teacher-assessment experiences. Sixty three students at Urmia University and Tabriz Islamic Azad University, in the…

While feedback has been highlighted as the most powerful influence on student achievement, Weaver (2006) noted that up to 40% of tertiary students lack confidence in their feedback and many students express dissatisfaction with this aspect of their student experience (Rodway-Dyer, Dunne, & Newcombe, 2009). Chasms remain between academic…

In modern pedagogical processes various teaching methods and approaches (elements of the pedagogical process -- EPPs) are used ranging from traditional ones (e.g., lectures, books) to more recent ones (e.g., e-discussion boards, e-quizzes). Different models for evaluation of the appropriateness of EPPs have been proposed in the past. However, the…

This study sought to evaluate whether a one-trial brief experimental analysis (OTBEA) would reliably and validly identify effective treatments to improve oral reading fluency for 6 elementary school students referred for reading problems. An OTBEA was conducted with each participant to assess the effects of skill- and performance-based treatment…

Reliable and valid methods to evaluate student competence are needed in social work education, and practice examinations with standardized clients may hold promise for social work. The authors conducted a critical appraisal of standardized client simulations used in social work education to assess their effectiveness for teaching and for…

In 2013, the National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE) and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI)--with support from ETS and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP)--began an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) data quality campaign.…