Reading Recovery (RR) is a constructivist reading intervention used to provide tier 3 instruction to struggling readers in the first grade. The program has been previously evaluated and found effective by Evidence for ESSA (John Hopkins University), What Works Clearing House (intervention report institute for education sciences 2013), and in a…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Organizing for Learning Improvement: What It Takes (Andrea M. Pope and Keston H. Fulcher); (2) Editor's Notes: The Leadership Imperatives for Assessment Excellence -- Imperative #2, Attracting and Retaining Talent to Support Assessment Excellence (Stephen P. Hundley);…

English preparatory programs play a critical role in preparing students for their departments that offer English medium instruction. Therefore, investigating such programs has gained great significance as such an investigation provides us with critical information about how well the programs are functioning to achieve the desired outcomes. This…

This article presents the implementation of an assessment model for generic competences in K-12 enabled by open educational practices. It showcases a digital competence assessment model that outlines the design of competence assessment scenarios constructed by means of a collaborative process involving teachers from six European countries,…

In 2011, Southampton Solent University, a post-1992 university in southern England, introduced a new marking scheme with the aims of changing marking practice to achieve greater transparency and consistency in marking, and to ensure that the full range of marks was being awarded to students. This paper discusses the strategic background to the…

An analysis was conducted of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) research evidence base on the effectiveness of replicable education interventions. Most interventions were found to have little or no support from technically adequate research studies, and intervention effect sizes were of questionable magnitude to meet education policy goals. These…

This paper aims at investigating students' perceptions about assessment, especially the ways in which it is put into practice. Data were collected through questionnaires in different programmes in Portugal and Sweden. In total, 173 students from Portugal and 72 from Sweden participated in the study. Findings showed that students had similar ideas…

Measurable targets, key performance indicators, value for money--whatever we may think of the "impact agenda," it looks like it is here to stay. Are we trapped in a positivist, new managerialist spiral of demonstrating the value of our work, or can we take the lead in reframing the discourse on how educational development proves its…

Effective classroom assessment techniques are directly linked to course objectives and proposed outcomes. Results within formative and summative assessments have been studied in the online learning environment as educators seek to meet objectives with respect to student success in the non-traditional setting. Online classroom assessment techniques…

The paper examines the benefits claimed for action learning at individual, organisational and inter-organisational levels. It goes on to identify both generic difficulties in evaluating development programmes and action learning specifically. The distinction between formative and summative evaluation is considered and a summative evaluation…

This study addressed the impact of VAM, concerns with VAM data, uses and interventions educational leaders provided teachers, and components perceived as necessary for VAM effectiveness as an evaluation tool. The demographics used for this study were position, school size, and experience. Due to the documented need for educational accountability…

This article raises questions about the use of needs assessment by those seeking to improve the performance of organizations and individuals. While the discrepancy model of needs assessment has enjoyed a long history and is widely accepted, the author states that it has several undesirable consequences in terms of its impact. This article offers…

This article argues that evaluation of professional development (PD) requires a focus on student learning and an evidential baseline to enable practitioners and school leaders to determine the impact of the PD in which they are engaged. Several models of evaluating PD are briefly considered and it is suggested that most of these enable programme…

Institutional assessment initiatives can provide opportunities to make the intellectual work of teaching and learning in composition studies more visible. Reciprocally, the scholarship of teaching and learning's situatedness within disciplinary norms and values can enhance institutional assessments, providing a check on the tendency to rely…

This important new book provides the first in-depth, authoritative and balanced examination of the critical issues pervading Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). The book highlights strengths and flaws in SEL theory and research, and sets the agenda for the next generation of inquiry. The book investigates key topics such as: (1) definitions and…