High-stakes assessments prominently influence what is done in secondary school science lessons ('washback' effects). It is therefore important that assessments of knowledge and understanding gained from practical work are constructed to reward and incentivise effective practices in practical work. To do that, they must differentiate between pupils…

This report provides an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations. Previous reports by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) have covered research published since 1999. In this report, we summarize the research published in 2019. During 2019, 11 research studies were published on the topic of testing accommodations…

Text-to-speech (TTS) refers to technology that reads aloud digital text (Understood, 2019). For years, TTS and its human counterpart--read aloud--have generated controversy about when and for whom these supports should be allowed on state assessments (Thurlow, Christensen, & Rogers, n.d.; Thurlow & Weiner, n.d.; Thurlow, Laitusis, Dillon,…

This report provides an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations. Previous reports by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) have covered research published since 1999. In this report, we summarize the research published in 2020. During 2020, 11 research studies addressed testing accommodations in the U.S. K-12…

The purpose of this report is to present a synthesis of the research on test accommodations for U.S. elementary and secondary students (K-12) published in 2018. The academic literature described here encompasses empirical studies of performance comparability, investigations into accommodations use, implementation practices, and perceptions of the…

Formally launched in September 2018, the ACT® Certified Educator™ program is a professional learning and credentialing program designed to help educators improve their teaching and tutoring strategies and skills and be fully equipped to support student learning in the core content areas of the ACT® test. In this study, participants' views of the…

During the academic year in the state of Georgia, EL students in public schools take the Georgia Milestones End-of-Grade and the ACCESS 2.0 assessments, which are in line with the state-mandated subject area standards in mathematics, science, language arts, and social studies, as well as English language proficiency standards (Georgia Department…

Three mode comparability studies were conducted on the following Saturday national ACT test dates: October 26, 2019, December 14, 2019, and February 8, 2020. The primary goal of these studies was to evaluate whether ACT scores exhibited mode effects between paper and online testing that would necessitate statistical adjustments to the online…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what the nation's students know and can do in various subjects such as mathematics, reading, science, and writing, as well as civics, geography, technology and engineering literacy, and U.S. history. The results of NAEP are…

The purpose of this report is to present a synthesis of the research on test accommodations published in 2015 and 2016. We summarize the research to review current research trends and enhance understanding of the implications of accommodations use in the development of future policy directions, to highlight implementation of current and new…

This Information Capsule answers the most frequently asked questions about Miami-Dade County Public Schools' (M-DCPS) academic performance during the 2018-2019 school year. M-DCPS earned a District Performance Grade of "A" in 2019. The percentage of M-DCPS schools earning a School Performance Grade of "A" remained stable from…

The Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program was developed to increase the number of secondary students who participate in rigorous academic courses, to accelerate student learning, and to improve student performance. The AVID program in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) targets students who (1) are in the academic…

The purpose of this study was to address Advanced Placement (AP)® policy-related questions from administrators at the University System of Georgia (USG) using current AP Exam records and student course performance at four institutions. Specifically, comparisons of sequent or subsequent course grades were made between AP and non-AP students. This…

This report summarizes the Austin Independent School District bilingual and English as a second language programs students' academic performance during 2017-2018. Students' advanced placement course performance, state academic tests (STAAR and EOC) performance, and graduation and dropout rates are summarized. [For the Executive Summary, see…

This report provides an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations as well as to identify promising future areas of research. Previous reports by NCEO have covered research published since 1999. We summarize the research to review current research trends and enhance understanding of the implications of accommodations use in the…