Students with disabilities often face academic challenges while in school. They can only master academic concepts if they receive services that are appropriately monitored and assessed. This quantitative causal-comparative study analyzed the associations between academic assessment methods for students with disabilities in a local Florida school…

In teacher inquiry, the metaphor of stance is used to describe a positionality towards teaching that includes questioning classroom practices, engaging in cycles of continuous improvement, and generating knowledge. We expand the metaphor of stance to include a metaphor for complicated movements while maintaining balance -- dynamic structural…

If we wish to embed assessment for accountability within instruction, we need to better understand the relative contribution of different types of learner data to statistical models that predict scores and discrete achievement levels on assessments used for accountability purposes. The present work scales up and extends predictive models of math…

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented shift in how health science education is delivered (Sandars et al., 2020). With face-to-face learning, such as lab and classroom interactions, largely unavailable during the pandemic, institutions have been required to quickly shift the learning environment to a fully virtual format. While…

In the present study, we describe the innovative use of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Comprehensive Basic Science Examination (CBSE) as a progress test during the preclerkship medical curriculum. The main aim of this study was to provide external validation of internally developed multiple-choice assessments in a new medical…

This paper sets out the main findings of the International Instructional Systems Study (IISS), conducted by the UCL Institute of Education and funded by the Center on International Education Benchmarking (CIEB). The study examined the instructional systems and intended curricula of six "high performing" countries and two US states. The…

Rigorous standards and aligned assessments are vital tools for boosting education outcomes but they have little traction without strong accountability systems that attach consequences to performance. In this pilot study, Eileen Reed, Janie Scull, Gerilyn Slicker, and Amber Winkler lay out the essential features of such accountability systems,…

The purpose for this study was to find an assessment that is currently being used and is a common assessment familiar to others within the Brick-and-mortar classroom and transform that assessment for use within the online learning environment. By using assessments, teachers can measure whether or not students are learning what it is they are…

In December 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced No Child Left Behind (NCLB), as the nation's major law governing public schools. ESSA retains the requirement that states test all students in reading and math in grades three through eight and once in high school, as well as the requirement that…

This article examines the use of concept mapping for formative and summative assessment of northeast Florida middle school students' knowledge of human geography. The students were participants in an afterschool, academic, college reach-out program that provided opportunities to test concept mapping strategies that support spatial thinking and…

Because of the large number of students involved, statewide assessments used throughout the United States are designed to be highly efficient with respect to administration and scoring. This constrains the formats that can be used and consequently limits testing to a subset of competencies typically associated with the education standards being…

Teachers today are called on to have an ever expanding knowledge base and skills that support working within a multi-tiered system of supports, including Response to Intervention (MTSS/RtI). Yet, most teachers do not possess these skills. Current field-based professional development initiatives focus on the existing teacher corps. However, Pk-12…

One of a series of Education Resource Strategies (ERS) publications and tools, this paper explores important ways to organize and invest in Professional Growth & Support that strengthen teaching capacity and effectiveness at the system level. It draws on research, ERS experience with urban school systems nationwide, and detailed analyses of…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate, using a randomized experimental design, the efficacy of TERC's "Using Data" program to change teacher behavior and improve student learning outcomes. The "Using Data" intervention provides professional development and technical assistance to teachers to help them use data…

Government policies designed to redress social inequality are often evaluated by qualitative methods, which prevents the establishment of a causal relationship between policy objectives and outcomes. Social programmes to broaden participation in higher education have been a feature of government policy in Europe, the US and Australia during the…