The instructions in this manual explain the responsibilities of school administrators for the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) Grades 3-8 English Language Arts and Mathematics Tests. School administrators must be thoroughly familiar with the contents of the manual, and the policies and procedures must be followed as written so that testing…

Language without Borders was initiated by the Brazilian Federal Government and has undergone a series of modifications until its discontinuation as a government-sponsored program, when it was taken up by the academic community as a free enterprise. Currently, it is linked to Andifes (National Association of Directors of Federal Institutions of…

The authors offer guidance on recognizing and resisting test-centric instruction in reading comprehension. They posit that five practices indicate a test-centric view of comprehension: when the tested content is privileged, when the test becomes the text, when annotation requirements replace strategic thinking, when test items frame how students…

Debilitating test anxiety is a general threat to validity if it biases assessment scores. Moreover, if bias differs between demographic groups, anxiety also raises concerns about test fairness. This study applied structural equation modeling to investigate possible measurement bias due to anxiety on the ACT® assessment and relationships among…

In response to increased accountability demands placed on teacher preparation programs across the United States, some programs are using standardized teacher performance assessments, such as edTPA. In our elementary teacher preparation program, a recent state mandate stipulated that teacher candidates had to successfully complete edTPA in order to…

This study aimed to investigate children's potential for reasoning by analogy utilizing a newly-developed computerized dynamic test, and the potential differential influence of executive functions (cognitive flexibility, attention, and planning) on static and dynamic measures of analogical reasoning. Participants included 64 children (mean age =…

This paper reviews a total of 20 empirical research studies concerning parents' behavior under the context of high-stakes language assessment, aiming to reveal the impact of the assessment on parents' behavior. The results show that (1) parents are typically involved in high-stakes language assessment process; (2) their involvement practice…

This brief investigates the ways in which students engaged in test prep, whether underserved learners participated in different test prep activities than their peers, and whether any of the test prep features were related to performance on the ACT.

National and state-based assessments have been a common practice for the past several decades. These assessments often come with high-stake consequences for students and schools, which tends towards the creation of a test-centric environment where educators prioritize test-based instruction to prepare students to be successful on those…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of special education teachers when preparing students for high-stakes tests. National education laws require teachers to provide quality instruction to prepare students for high-stakes tests. While general and special education teachers are responsible for providing instruction, there is…

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for examining the effect of distance education process, where millions of students have been caught unprepared, on Turkish education has arisen. It is rather important to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the education in this process and to give the right direction to the process by overcoming the…

Professor Glenn Fulcher's research has influenced language testing and assessment in two ways: in proposing a new understanding of data-driven speaking test design, and in drawing attention to the core identity of language testers. The former has had a powerful impact on practical speaking testing and assessment. The latter has asked a very…

This year has seen exams take place again for the first time since 2019, a move back towards the pre-pandemic norm for schools and colleges across the country. But the cohort of young people taking exams this year have faced years of disruption to their educations, which has continued even when they've been back in the classroom. Mitigations for…

In ELT contexts, the concept of ELF awareness has been proposed as a means of developing the skills, strategies, and overall outlook that learners require to competently participate in ELF interactions. Depending on the teaching context, this can be a demanding process. We discuss the ELF-aware instructional interventions carried out by two…

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with Questar Assessment Inc. (Questar) for the development of the 2020 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP). The 2020…