In the 2017-18 school year, 18% of New York students opted out of a mandated state assessment test. On Long Island, that number was closer to 50% of students opting out of one or more tests. The implications of this phenomenon are far-reaching, but unknown. This study seeks to better understand both who opts out and the potential impact of opt out…

Due to COVID-19, this dissertation examined the newly created virtual and hybrid learning environments for elementary-aged students in a northeastern Catholic diocese in the United States during the 2020-2021 school year. The problem is schooling choices have not changed since the inception of compulsory schooling. This study examined five schools…

The following is a five-chapter dissertation surrounding the use of text mining techniques for better understanding the language of mathematics items from standardized tests to improve linguistic equity of these items to support assessment of English Language Learners. Introduction: The dissertation begins with an overview of the problem that…

Fierce debates over standardized assessments in teacher preparation have revolved around flaws in implementation and the politics of privatization. While important, this focus obscures the philosophical divide between proponents and opponents of standardized assessments. This article examines how faculty in New York State argue for and against a…

Trust in centralised high-stakes exams in Georgia has grown since 2005, when the introduction of nationwide standardised tests for university entry successfully eradicated the deep-rooted corruption in the admissions system. In 2011, another set of high-stakes exams were introduced for school graduation, resulting in a minimum of 12 exams for…

There is extensive evidence suggesting that school suspension is correlated with poor academic performance. However, many studies examining the association between school suspension and achievement focus on the effects of out-of-school suspension specifically. While in-school suspension is offered as a less harmful alternative consequence to…

South Africa's National Senior Certificate examination system was introduced in 2008 as a single national examination system, in order to facilitate fair and standardised assessment and to provide all learners with an equal chance of access to higher education. However, limited research has been done to investigate the discrimination power of the…

Through widespread "opt-out" efforts over the past several years, parent and student activists have pressured schools, districts, states, and the federal government to reconsider the extent and limits of state-mandated assessments. This case study focuses on the ethical questions faced by a principal in a school divided over state…

A teacher's ability to feel successful--some might even say good--in today's education system relies on a particular conception of academic success. We argue neoliberalism, as it operates in education, is a normalized trauma enfolded in the individual and collective bodies of women teachers producing overwhelming feelings of never being good…

Large-scale learning assessments can be used to generate performance and contextual data on student learning outcomes. The UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO) has conducted a qualitative study to explore both how and why learning assessment data are used in six sub-Saharan African countries. This Information Sheet…

The purpose of this research is to reveal and compare the language proficiency profiles of Purdue's Chinese and Indian graduate applicants in various disciplines to take a step towards the development of Language Proficiency Literacy (LPL) of graduate admissions decision makers. The study argues that before being able to offer LPL development…

NWEA claimed their assessment results could accurately predict student performance in reading and mathematics on the ACT Aspire for students in Grades 7 through 10. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between students' scores on the NWEA MAP tests in reading and mathematics and the ACT Aspire for students in Grades 7…

This mixed methods study aimed to categorize and analyze the frequencies and percentages of complex thinking in the PARCC practices assessments in English Language Arts grade 10 and Geometry. The Hess' Cognitive Rigor Matrix was used for the first part of the study to code each of the PARCC assessment questions in Language Arts grade 10 and…

Empirical research on the predictors of the edTPA scores is growing in education literature. However, to date minimal empirical literature exists on edTPA and physical education as a specific program area. State policymakers, educator preparation program administration, and physical education teacher education faculty may benefit from…

Purpose: This study aimed to determine if eligibility for special education and related services (SERS) in New Jersey (NJ) is biased based on a child's racial/ cultural background or socioeconomic status (SES). Method: A Qualtrics survey was administered to NJ child study team personnel including speech-language pathologists, school psychologists,…