Purpose: This study, a post hoc observational one, attempted to determine if career and technical education (CTE) students in the state of Mississippi would academically benefit from taking multiple formative assessments in an online format prior to completing their summative exams. Most CTE students in the state of Mississippi are required to…

This study gathered information from practitioners on their perspectives of experiences implementing the North Carolina Kindergarten Entry Assessment (NC KEA). Initially, practitioners were invited to complete an online survey asking them to rate or provide information about several aspects related to implementing the assessment process. In total,…

The 2016-2017 academic year marks the second year of statewide implementation of the North Carolina K-3 Formative Assessment Process: Kindergarten Entry Assessment (FAPKEA). The assessment, developed and implemented by the Office of Early Learning (OEL) at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, is a comprehensive formative assessment…

The North Carolina K-3 Formative Assessment Process: Kindergarten Entry Assessment (NC K-3 FAP: KEA) is the initial step in the development of a comprehensive formative assessment process for young children from kindergarten entry through the end of third grade. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gather teacher and administrator feedback…

In response to US accountability policies and yearly performance targets, school districts are implementing periodic or benchmark assessments to provide teachers with data to improve instruction and student achievement. The tests are typically given quarterly to track student progress toward yearly accountability goals, as well as to inform…

This paper examines the utilization of construct validity in formative assessment for classroom-based purposes. Construct validity pertains to the notion that interpretations are made by educators who analyze test scores during formative assessment. The purpose of this paper is to note the challenges that educators face when interpreting these…

Math in Common® (MiC) is a five-year initiative that supports a formal network of 10 California school districts as they implement the Common Core State Standards in mathematics (CCSS-M) across grades K-8. As the MiC initiative moves into its second year, one of the central activities that each of the districts is undergoing to support CCSS…

Laboratory courses serve as important gateways to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. One of the challenges in assessing laboratory learning is to conduct meaningful and standardized practical exams, especially for large multisection laboratory courses. Laboratory practical exams in life sciences courses are frequently…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Launching E-Portfolios: An Organic Process; (2) Editor's Notes: Envisioning Learning; (3) Promoting Student Affairs Buy-In for Assessment: Lessons Learned; (4) Working at Assessment; (5) Making the Case for Formative Assessment: How It Improves Student Engagement and…

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…

A comprehensive assessment system is one in which three types of assessments: summative, benchmark, and formative assessments are routinely administered to all students in K-12 classrooms. The first part of this report summarizes the research on comprehensive assessment systems and provides clarity in terms of how each individual assessment type…

California has embarked on a major new wave of curriculum reform with the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the new English Language Development (ELD) standards, and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The adoption of the CCSS builds a legacy of standards-based education reform in California that began with the…

California has embarked on a major new wave of curriculum reform with the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the new English Language Development (ELD) standards, and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The adoption of the CCSS builds a legacy of standards-based education reform in California that began with the…

This study examines the problem of inconsistent achievement in social studies on the Delaware State Testing Program (DSTP) at a high school in Delaware. Since 2002, the district began an initiative to create common assessments for all core content areas that were meant to align with the state standards. In social studies, that initiative was the…

In this technical report, we document the results of a cross-validation study designed to identify optimal cut-scores for the use of the easyCBM[R] mathematics test in the state of Washington. A large sample, randomly split into two groups of roughly equal size, was used for this study. Students' performance classification on the Washington state…