In many countries, standardized math tests are important for achieving academic success. Here, we examine whether content of items, the story that explains a mathematical question, biases performance of low-SES students. In a large-scale cohort study of Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMSS)--including data from 58…

At the end of Primary 6, students in Singapore schools take a national examination, the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). Society at large view the PSLE as a highstakes examination. In addition to out-of-class work assigned by mathematics teachers for students to prepare for the PSLE mathematics, parents may also draw on out-ofschool…

In this edition of Assessment News, Charles Darr uses a case study from the National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement (NMSSA) to highlight how students can benefit from activating deliberate thinking in assessments. The key message underscores the value of using assessment information to generate insights that inform better teaching and…

In order to make assessments as widely accessible as possible, including to young learners from diverse backgrounds with a wide range of individual needs and characteristics, some developers of standardized tests have resorted to offering accessibility tools (e.g., magnifying/zoom) and accommodations (e.g., extended response time) to test takers.…

Beginning with the 2020/21 school year, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) began an ongoing effort to collect and analyze literacy screening assessment data from schools and districts participating in certain state grants to inform improvement efforts. Grantee schools and districts that provide literacy…

Introduction: This study evaluated performance and engagement on the tactile science alternate assessment based on alternate academic standards (AA-AAS). This assessment was designed for students with significant intellectual disabilities and visual impairments (i.e., blindness and low vision). Four primary research questions guided this study.…

In 2018, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) administered two assessments--the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Technology and Engineering Literacy (TEL) assessment and the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS)--to two separate nationally representative samples of 8th-grade students in the…

Measurement instruments of early childhood teachers' mathematical pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK) have to consider the special characteristics of early childhood teaching. Early childhood teaching includes some planned activities but in contrast to learning in school, it is often motivated and generated by situations which unfold…

The National Assessment Governing Board (Governing Board) is an independent, bipartisan organization that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), commonly known as The Nation's Report Card. This paper provides a summary of the history of the Governing Board framework development processes and the evolution of the…

Prospective teacher candidates should make informed decisions about which teacher preparation programs are likely to best prepare them to succeed on their licensure tests and in the classroom. However, too few states publish data that demonstrate whether specific teacher preparation programs are adequately preparing teacher candidates for their…

Many parents are unhappy with the way testing has altered, expanded and taken hold in primary schools in recent years. Some parents chose to express their objections to primary Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) in particular, through taking part in collective strike action. While research into testing abounds, the opinions of parents and their role…

Since 1973, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has gathered information about student achievement in mathematics. The NAEP assessment in mathematics has two components that differ in purpose. One assessment measures long-term trends in achievement among 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students by using the same basic design each time.…

Despite the importance of assessment accommodations, little is known about its use in the context of classroom assessments. To provide guidance for teachers on how to best support their emergent bilinguals during classroom assessments, there may be ideas from large-scale assessments that can be used in the classrooms. This article, a targeted…

The purpose of this study is to examine the appropriateness of using the "TOEFL Primary®" tests to evaluate the language abilities of students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) through an online-delivered curriculum, the VIPKid Major Course (MC). Data include student test scores on the TOEFL Primary Listening and Reading tests…

This study examined the validity of trilingual test as a test accommodation to assess the Indigenous pupils' mathematical performance in Malaysia. The study employed two tests; BM-only test with items written in Malay language (BM) and trilingual test, which had items written in BM and English, and oral audio recording in their native Temiar…