There is a growing interest in conceptualizing, defining, and assessing what are often called 21st century skills or deeper learning competencies. The purpose of this literature review is to explore the conceptualizations, definitions, and understandings in the research literature related to critical thinking. Key initial questions include: What…

The current investigation aimed to explore how and to what extent technology tools and web-delivered language learning platforms impact the academic performance of English language learners (ELLs) at the tertiary level. The study used a quantitative experimental research method employing a single-group pre-test and post-test design. A total of…

Since the implementation of No Child Left Behind in 2001, high-stakes testing has become a mandatory practice across all 50 states. High-stakes testing is currently being used as a way to hold teachers and schools accountable for student success. In order to enforce these policies, the federal government has created sanctions that have serious…

The purpose of diagnostic language assessment is to identify learner strengths and weaknesses so that subsequent learning activity can be planned according to learner needs, a purpose which aligns with pedagogical recommendations to individualize instruction. Indeed, the extent to which diagnostic assessment can inform the selection of…

Not much is known about the ways in which assessment data have actually been used in education policy to date. Understanding the role of assessments in informing system-level decision-making is a first step towards helping stakeholders improve the design and usefulness of assessments. Moreover, this understanding can help to further discussions…

Validation research for educational achievement tests is often limited to an examination of intended test score interpretations. This article calls for an expansion of validation research in three dimensions. First, validation must attend to actual test use and its consequences, not just score meaning. Second, validation must attend to unintended…

Tested hypothesis that achievement would be maximized by matching student's Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children-identified processing strength with sequential or simultaneous instruction. Findings from analyses of data from three students with strengths in sequential processing and three students with strengths in simultaneous processing…

The Hawaii Learning Project (HALP) has produced an Algebra I curriculum that stresses student learning through problem solving, communication, connections, development over time, and challenging tasks. The HALP curriculum is used by more than 16,000 students in 13 states. Scores on standardized algebra tests for HALP graduates have been about the…

The issue of low teacher expectations of students is addressed, bearing in mind that any effort to address low teacher expectations for students that does not address the broader issue of school change will fail. The first section of the monograph explores the relationship between teacher expectations and student achievement. The second section…

Past research on the effects of Minimum Competency Tests (MCT) on teaching and learning is reviewed, and the large database of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is used to shed more light on these effects. There seems to be little doubt that MCT, together with associated changes in instructional methods, has produced some…

The impacts of the Grade 12 Provincial Examination Program on the educational system in British Columbia and its participants were studied. Beginning with the 1983-84 school year, students in British Columbia have been required to take an end-of-course provincial examination in each academic course they take. The study began with a review of…

This collection of essays focuses on educational testing, showing how testing encroaches on teacher freedom and how narrow standards can actually reduce student achievement. The chapters are: (1) Testing Is Not Teaching; (2) The Freedom Factor; (3) Sharing Power with Intelligent Expectation; (4) Everyone Has a Story To Tell; (5) Lets Change the…

Detailed evidence is presented about the extent of generalization from high-stakes tests to other tests and about the instructional effects of high-stakes testing. Data are from grade 3 of a large, high-poverty urban district with large numbers of Black and Hispanic American students. The district's results in 1990 for two tests, designated Test B…

A framework is presented for implementing standardized achievement testing. Fundamental concepts and formats of the tests are reviewed, and useful references are listed. Standardized tests are considered and categorized in terms of administration format, functions, validity, and type (cognitive versus noncognitive). Thirteen basic recommendations…

This critique of standardized tests begins by placing the use of such tests within a social context. It then addresses the matter of standardized testing in theory and practice in relation to teaching. The substance of standardized examinations, their common content, and the things they do not test are also explored. The relationship of good…