Regression discontinuity (RD) designs are commonly used for program evaluation with continuous treatment assignment variables. But in practice, treatment assignment is frequently based on ordinal variables. In this study, we propose an RD design with an ordinal running variable to assess the effects of extended time accommodations (ETA) for…

Background/Context: Regression discontinuity (RD) designs are used for policy and program evaluation where subjects' eligibility into a program or policy is determined by whether an assignment variable (i.e., running variable) exceeds a pre-defined cutoff. Under a standard RD design with a continuous assignment variable, the average treatment…

In this essay, we describe the construction and use of the Cut-Score Operating Function in aiding standard setting decisions. The Cut-Score Operating Function shows the relation between the cut-score chosen and the consequent error rate. It allows error rates to be defined by multiple loss functions and will show the behavior of each loss…

Public school critics often point to rising expenditures and relatively flat test scores to justify their school reform agendas. The claims are flawed because their analyses fail to account for the difference in data types between dollars (ratio) and test scores (interval). A cost-benefit analysis using dollars as a common metric for both costs…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act compelled states to design school accountability systems based on annual student assessments. The effect of this federal legislation on the distribution of student achievement is a highly controversial but centrally important question. This study presents evidence on whether NCLB has influenced student…

The quality of performance estimates from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) long-term trend assessment for Black and Hispanic students was evaluated. NAEP estimates of these trends are imprecise to the point that their usefulness for policymaking is arguable. Long-term trend assessment results also differ from main assessment…

Recent changes in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) that lead to its division into a trend assessment and a main assessment jeopardize the information the NAEP can provide about trends, especially the trends for racial and ethnic groups. This study for the Technical Review Panel addressed whether the trend assessment provides…

At grades 8 and 12, the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading assessment contained a small number of 50-minute blocks in addition to the usual 25-minute blocks. To determine whether to incorporate the 50-minute blocks into the operational scaling, this study sought to determine whether the longer blocks measured a…

The statute authorizing the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) calls for the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) to set appropriate achievement levels in all areas and grades tested by the NAEP. These levels are intended to establish what students should know, not just what they do know. In 1990, the NAEP posited three…