This report presents an overview of the history, collective learning, and concluding products of a networked improvement community (NIC) that operated and evolved between 2017 and 2021: the Student-Centered Assessment Network (SCAN). SCAN comprised a group of teachers from three Rhode Island high schools; a coordinating team of researchers,…

Teachers have access to more data than ever before, including summative (state-level), interim (benchmark-level), and formative (classroom-level) data. Yet research on how often and why teachers use each type of data is scarce. The Nebraska Department of Education partnered with the Regional Educational Laboratory Central to conduct a study of…

Teachers have access to more data than ever before, including summative (state-level), interim (benchmarklevel), and formative (classroom-level) data. Yet research on how often and why teachers use each type of data is scarce. The Nebraska Department of Education partnered with the Regional Educational Laboratory Central to conduct a study of…

Teachers have access to more data than ever before, but comparative research on how often and why teachers use different types of data is scarce. The Nebraska Department of Education identifies summative (state-level), interim (benchmark-level), and formative (classroom-level) assessment data as key measures of student learning. The department…

These are the appendixes for the report, "How Nebraska Teachers Use and Perceive Summative, Interim, and Formative Data." This document presents additional information about the study topic: teachers' data use. It begins with a description of the conceptual framework and supporting literature for the scales in the Teacher Data Use Survey…

In partnership with the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, RFA has been studying Philadelphia schools' take-up of an instructional reform that has demonstrated positive impacts on teacher knowledge and student learning in math. The Ongoing Assessment Project (OGAP) is designed to deepen teachers' understanding of foundational concepts in…

This article describes a case study in which Our Lady of Hungary Catholic School (OLH) principal Kevin Goralczyk and the parish's pastor, Reverend Kevin Bauman, faced educators' universal challenge: Knowing what students need to learn but wondering how to evaluate if they were really successfully taking in the information rather than simply…

Assessing student learning is a complex process requiring teachers to have deep knowledge of the curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy. Changing political climates mean that teachers are expected to respond to new approaches or systems and adjust their classroom practice accordingly. Teachers often engage in professional learning (PL) to assist…

The Center on Standards, Alignment, Instruction, and Learning (C-SAIL), examines through four lines of study to determine how college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards are implemented, if they improve student learning, and what instructional tools measure and support their implementation. This brief presents findings from C-SAIL's…

The Center on Standards, Alignment, Instruction, and Learning (C-SAIL), examines how college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards are implemented, if they improve student learning, and what instructional tools measure and support their implementation. This brief presents findings from C-SAIL's Implementation Study, which uses interview and survey…

This case focuses on one parent's request to have his daughter exempted from district-mandated computer tests (called STAR Enterprise tests). These tests are administered several times per year as a formative assessment to gauge student achievement in the areas of reading and math. The parent was concerned that the district was spending too much…

The Center on Standards, Alignment, Instruction, and Learning (C-SAIL), examines through four lines of study to determine how college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards are implemented, if they improve student learning, and what instructional tools measure and support their implementation. This brief presents findings from C-SAIL's…

In a very short period during the spring and summer of 2012, researchers at the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) and the Illinois Education Research Council (IERC) collected data from respondents in five districts across Illinois to examine how school districts in the state approach designing and implementing new…

Any policy reform in education is highly effective when it is planned and implemented "holistically" and yet, it is the most challenging way forward. Many countries in Asia have reformed their English language policies and syllabi in the last two decades due to the increasing value of the language worldwide. Motivated by a…

The big clock in Dowan McNair-Lee's 8th grade classroom in the Stuart-Hobson Middle School is silent, but she can hear the minutes ticking away nonetheless. On this day, like any other, the clock is a constant reminder of how little time she has to prepare her students--for spring tests, and for high school and all that lies beyond it. The…