For the past decade, the accountability model associated with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) emphasized proficiency on end of year tests; with Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) the emphasis on proficiency within statewide testing programs, though now integrated with other measures of student learning, nevertheless remains a primary metric for…

The OECD and its U.S. administrator, McGraw-Hill Education CTB, have recently concluded the first cycle of the OECD-Test for Schools in the U.S. This test is being marketed to local schools and is designed to compare 15-year-olds from individual participating schools against peers nationally and internationally using the OECD's PISA test as its…

A good assessment plan combines many direct and indirect measures to validate the collected data. One often controversial assessment measure comes in the form of retention exams. Although assessment retention exams may come with faults, others advocate for their inclusion in program assessment. Objective-based tests may offer insight to…

A report analyzing how accommodated tests, and students with disabilities and the assessments they take, are addressed in state test security policies -- a subject about which little is known. This analysis was conducted to partially fill this gap. The report provides a snapshot of how accommodated tests for students with disabilities, alternate…

This article used several data sets from a large-scale state testing program to examine the feasibility of combining general and modified assessment items in computerized adaptive testing (CAT) for different groups of students. Results suggested that several of the assumptions made when employing this type of mixed-item CAT may not be met for…

This technical report provides an overview of the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA), including a description of the purpose of the NYSAA, the processes utilized to develop and implement the NYSAA program, and Stakeholder involvement in those processes. By comparing the intent of the NYSAA with its process and design, the validity of the…

This paper aims to tell how the Russian national examination in mathematics (the Uniform State Examination or USE) has been conducted most recently. The author must say at once that the history of the system of secondary school graduation examinations or even the history of the USE will be covered only to the small degree that is necessary for…

State-level testing programs continue to grow, and the challenge of validation does not wane. Although more than a decade has passed since the 1999 Joint Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing set out a call for the organization of validity evidence into validity arguments, practical examples of such arguments are not readily…

In conjunction with the adoption and subsequent implementation of the "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics" (CCSSM), state-led consortia are developing next-generation assessments aligned to the CCSSM. This paper discusses the progress and plans of two main coalitions of states--the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for…

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of the impact of alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). We used a survey of 401 teachers from three states to probe teacher perspectives across a wide range of topics. Our study found teacher perceptions were more universal than state specific. The…

This paper represents one outcome from the "Invitational Research Symposium on Technology-Enabled and Universally Designed Assessments," which examined technology-enabled assessments (TEA) and universal design (UD) as they relate to students with disabilities (SWD). It was developed to stimulate research into TEAs designed to make tests…

In this article, the author argues that educational policymaking, teaching, and assessment are most effective and ethical when they are carried out with attention to local contexts. He explores this concept through a consideration of Nebraska's unique School-based, Teacher-led Assessment and Reporting System (STARS), which created a statewide…

This technical report provides an overview of the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA), including a description of the purpose of the NYSAA, the processes utilized to develop and implement the NYSAA program, and Stakeholder involvement in those processes. The purpose of this report is to document the technical aspects of the 2013-14 NYSAA.…

The importance of student assessment, particularly for summative purposes, has increased greatly over the past thirty years. At the same time, emphasis on including all students in assessment programs has also increased. Assessment programs, whether they are large-scale, district-based, or teacher developed, have traditionally attempted to assess…

The 2006-2007 school year was the eighth annual reporting period since disaggregating the performance of students with disabilities on state and district-wide assessments was required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It is the fifth reporting period since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and the…