California's Commission on Teacher Credentialing (Commission) requires all programs of preliminary multiple and single subject teacher preparation to use a Commission-approved Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA) as one of the program completion requirements for prospective teacher candidates. Three TPA models were approved by the Commission: (1)…

Ten years ago, many policymakers viewed the reform of teacher evaluation as a highly promising mechanism to improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement. Recently, that enthusiasm has dimmed as the available evidence suggests the subsequent reforms had a mixed record of implementation and efficacy. Even in districts where there was…

This publication is intended for use by school administrators and counselors. It provides general information on Regents Examinations as well as the specific requirements and procedures for requesting, administering, and rating these examinations. This manual is comprised of the following sections: (1) General Information; (2) Requesting and…

For agencies that deliver high-stakes Second Language (L2) proficiency exams, a research agenda has been undertaken for years to examine the role of rater, task, and rubric as sources of variability into their performance assessments (Lee, 2006; Sawaki & Sinharay, 2013; Xi, 2007; Xi & Mollaun, 2006). However, these challenges are more…

Although Machine Learning (ML) is used already in our daily lives, few are familiar with the technology. This poses new challenges for students to understand ML, its potential, and limitations as well as to empower them to become creators of intelligent solutions. To effectively guide the learning of ML, this article proposes a scoring rubric for…

Income gaps in college enrollment, persistence, and graduation raise concerns for those interested in equal opportunity in higher education. We present findings from a randomly assigned scholarship for low-income students at a medium-sized public 4-year university. The program focused solely on the first four semesters of enrollment and tied aid…

In response to increased accountability demands placed on teacher preparation programs across the US, some programs are using standardized teacher performance assessments, such as edTPA. A recent mandate for this study's elementary teacher preparation program is teacher candidates' successful completion of edTPA for teacher certification. A case…

This study uses a complexity-accuracy-lexis-fluency (CALF) framework to explore performance on 2 speaking tasks: a narrative picture-based task and an interactive decision-making task. A preliminary aim is to compare performance on the 2 tasks, using a wide range of CALF measures to explore where scores are similar and where they are different.…

Teacher perspectives have been lacking in the mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) literature. To fill this gap, this study investigates how Chinese teachers implemented WeChat-supported language tasks and the challenges they encountered in the process. Based on technology-mediated task-based language teaching and authentic assessment…

Considering that each student has a different cognitive structure, in addition to providing students with the perspective of a scientist, evaluating this acquisition; it is an important dimension of science education in the context of measurement and evaluation. In this context, the scientific process skills (SPS) of the students with different…

This design-based research study examined the first two cycles of development, enactment, analysis, and redesign of the Power of Data (POD) Facilitation Academy. Professional Learning and Development (PLD) providers' geospatial technology (GST) skills, understanding of programme principles, preparation, and stages of concern for implementing POD…

Many paraeducators have no formal education beyond high school and are provided with minimal training once on the job. Furthermore, as more schools turn to inclusionary practices, the impetus for highly qualified paraeducators becomes more important. However, little research has examined efficient ways to train paraeducators who work in inclusive…

Students are taught about the foundations of inquiry--questions, tasks, and sources--and how to build inquiry-based curriculum and instructional strategies for social studies. They begin their student teaching experiences knowing the difference between a compelling and supporting question, the role of a formative and summative performance task,…

Increased accountability demands are being placed on teacher preparation programs across the USA to demonstrate competencies of their teacher candidates. As a means of evaluating teacher candidates' instructional effectiveness and readiness for their own classrooms, some programs are using standardized teacher performance assessments, with faculty…

There is a growing interest in conceptualizing, defining, and assessing what are often called 21st century skills or deeper learning competencies. The purpose of this literature review is to explore the conceptualizations, definitions, and understandings in the research literature related to critical thinking. Key initial questions include: What…