This article analyzes how the Obama administration used executive power to grant waivers from federal education policies and assesses whether they used this power differently than previous administrations and in other sectors (e.g., health or welfare). The executive use of waivers to shape state policy is not a new trend. However, we find that…

This article proposes the use of a standards-based approach to reporting results from large-scale assessment surveys in South Africa. The use of this approach is intended to address the key shortcomings observed in the current reporting framework prescribed in the national curriculum documents. Using the Angoff method and data from the Annual…

The quest continues to standardise quality assurance systems throughout the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) under the auspices of the Bologna Process and led by the European Network for Quality Assurance (ENQA). Mirroring its member organisation in England, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), ENQA identifies, as one of its core aims, the…

The evaluation trend in the global education field implies new professional challenges for school principals. The purpose of this article is to describe and analyse Swedish school principals' experiences of prevailing evaluations and the implications for the profession. Specifically, we examine: a) how principals respond to evaluations and their…

The overriding objective of this study was to investigate secondary and university teachers' assessment conceptions in an EFL context using a four-factor ("Student Accountability", "School Accountability", "Improvement" and "Irrelevance") teachers' conceptions of assessment (TCoA) inventory (Brown, 2006).…

A companion piece to "High Stakes for High Achievers: State Accountability in the Age of ESSA," this report appraises states' current (or planned) accountability systems as they affect high-achieving students in high school. They were examined and rated based on whether they incorporate under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) the…

As states begin to revisit or revise their accountability systems to include an additional indicator of school quality or success under the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Center on Standards and Assessment Implementation (CSAI) has received queries regarding whether and how states are measuring school climate and stakeholder…

In 2015, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) celebrated 20 years of hard-charging higher education reform. Once a lone voice in the wilderness, ACTA is now leading the charge in their vigorous campaign to restore academic excellence, academic freedom, and accountability to American higher education. Core curricula, accreditation…

In spite of over a decade of U.S. school reform emphasizing test preparation and performance, students from minoritized backgrounds continue to underachieve on standardized testing. With an abundance of research on the achievement gap, we are now more than ever aware of this problem. But to avoid reproducing longstanding school inequities, testing…

A growing body of research links student health and academic achievement. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) recognizes this and calls on states to support student health and wellness and ensure safe, supportive learning environments. This National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) Policy Update explains how states can take…

Ten years have passed since New York's highest court ruled in the landmark school-funding and educational-rights case, "Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) v. State of New York," that the state was violating students' constitutional right to the "opportunity for a sound basic education" and ordered significant reforms of the…

This hearing represents the eighth in the series of Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions' hearings preparing to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. The primary focus of this hearing is strengthening Federal loan programs to ensure they are working well for students and families. Statements from the following committee members are…

This document records testimony from a hearing held to examine the implementation of the promise to restore state and local control over K-12 education through the Every Student Succeeds Act. The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act puts states and school districts back in charge of education and includes more than 50 pages of provisions to…

In December 2015, the U.S. Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and, with it, ushered in a new era of education policy in America. Leaving behind many of the most criticized aspects of its predecessor, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), this newest incarnation of the primary federal legislation guiding K-12 education provides state and…

Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs) are increasingly being used in evaluations of teacher effectiveness. This study investigates two properties of SGPs: 1) SGP sensitivity to reference group characteristics such as sample size, free and reduced lunch (FRL) status, and English language learner (ELL) status; and 2) variation in score changes across…