The introduction of No Child Left Behind increased performance expectations for students across the United States and compelled teachers to focus on standardized assessments instead of frequent formative assessments to monitor instruction and promote student learning. Common formative assessments (CFAs) help teachers align curriculum, assessment,…

Development of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and the creation of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), changes the pattern of accountability testing. These changes raise the question: "How should NAEP's validity and utility be…

In the following technical report, we describe the development and scaling of the easyCBM CCSS middle school mathematics measures, designed for use within a response to intervention framework. All items were developed in collaboration with experienced middle school mathematics teachers and were written to align with the Common Core State…

"Bars, Lines, & Pies" is a dynamic math program designed to build graphing skills in students, while also showing them the relevance of math in their lives. Developed by The Actuarial Foundation along with Scholastic, the graphing lessons and activities involve engaging, real-world examples about the environment and recycling. In these lessons,…

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) is transitioning from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) to the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® 2.0 (FCAT 2.0) to align with new student academic content standards. This booklet has been prepared to help understand the reports for the FCAT 2.0. It includes explanations of the reports,…

In order to prepare effective writing teachers, teacher educators need an understanding of how preservice preparation programs, inservice professional development, and the policies and practices of K-12 schools work together to influence teachers' writing instruction. This qualitative case study uses complexity theory (Davis & Sumara, 2006) to…

The College Board College Readiness Pathway is an assessment system that measures the reading, writing and mathematical knowledge and skills that students need to be on track to graduate high school college-ready. It consists of ReadiStep[TM], administered in grade eight; the PSAT/NMSQT[R], administered in grades 10-11; and the SAT[R],…

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is committed to providing the highest quality of education to its students. One way to provide a quality education is with an effective curriculum that reflects high standards and expectations. Thus, DoDEA has developed rigorous content standards aligned with national guidelines and standards.…

This article provides an extended, comprehensive example of how teachers, schools, districts, and external factors (e.g., parental pressure and policy mandates) shape curriculum research in the U.S. It retrospectively examines how three different middle school curriculum units were implemented and scaled-up in a large, diverse school system. The…

The purpose of this study was to examine postsecondary readiness for 17,499 Colorado students by exploring the congruence between middle school and high school state assessment results (Colorado State Assessment Program) from 2007, ACT results from 2008 and the need for remediation for Colorado students who graduated from high school in the spring…

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent that diagrammatic literacy is necessary for success on standardized science tests at the late-elementary and middle grade levels. Towards this goal, we quantified the frequency, form and function of graphical representations on select state science tests. 985 tests items from 14 states were…

For English learners (ELs), reclassifying to fluent English proficient (RFEP) signifies reaching a milestone indicating the ability to function in mainstream classes without support. Little is known about the discrepancy between the number of ELs who meet reclassification criteria and the number who are reclassified as fluent English proficient,…

This comprehensive book offers a practical pathway for developing twenty-first-century skills while simultaneously strengthening content-area learning. "Digital Learning" contains a wealth of research-based practices to integrate the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) National Education Technology Standards (NETS) for both…

The significance of the study was to examine intentional strategies to improve school climate relative to student school success as measured by academic achievement, attendance, and student behavior. It was important to understand how student school success was affected by factors related to school climate improvement such as leadership and change…

This study is examining student eligibility for and participation in alternate assessments, the technical quality of the alternate assessment instruments and implementation procedures, the alignment of assessments with content and achievement standards, and the use and effectiveness of alternate assessments in measuring student outcomes. The…