As standards documents have been introduced over the past 20 years, many states have seen an evolution in both the standards and related high stakes exams. For many teachers across the U.S., the rollout of standards and exams has not been an experience that builds trust in state education leaders. In this study, we consider three major changes in…

This document is written primarily for policy makers and state department of education staff who are considering through-year assessments, as well as consultants and contractors state departments rely on. The document identifies essential things to consider when designing or evaluating a through-year assessment program. The paper is organized into…

The research note focuses on the alignment aspect of English language proficiency (ELP) assessments, one of the required types of validity evidence for the federal peer review process of states' assessment systems. A basic tenant of current U.S. education policy is the alignment between what a test assesses and what content has been determined as…