This document describes the model used to measure student growth for institutional accountability in New York State for the 2018/19 school year and how three years of student growth results were combined to generate a three-year growth measure called the Growth Index. The Growth Index was first used in 2017/18 to make accountability…

This document describes the model used to measure student growth for institutional accountability in New York State for the 2017/18 school year and how three years of student growth results were combined to generate a three-year growth measure called the Growth Index. The Growth Index is new in 2017/18 and is used to make accountability…

This document describes the model used by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to measure student growth for institutional accountability in New York State for the 2016/17 school year. In 2016/17, growth models were implemented for institutional accountability in Grades 4-8 ELA and mathematics. All models are based on assessing each…

This document describes the model used by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to measure student growth for institutional accountability in New York State for the 2015/16 school year. In 2015/16, growth models were implemented for institutional accountability in Grades 4-8 ELA and mathematics. All models are based on assessing each…

In the current context of high stakes testing, school literacy is often defined by standardized literacy assessments--most state tests require students to demonstrate proficiency on specific kinds of writing tasks and reading material. Today, where schools and teachers exist in an environment of increased accountability, stakeholders who…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides federal funds to improve elementary and secondary education in the nation's schools. ESSA requires states and Local Educational Agencies (i.e., school districts and charter schools) to take a variety of actions to ensure that all children, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, gender, disability…

The purpose of this study was to explore the association of NCLB/accountability with educational output and input for New York State, collectively. Focusing on ELA and Math achievement in 4th and 8th grades, this study demonstrated the association of accountability outcomes in three ways: "accountability design, school proficiency level, and…

This article uses a regression discontinuity approach to study the influence of New York City's school grading policy on student math and English language arts (ELA) achievement. We find evidence that students in schools receiving a failing grade realized positive effects in English in the 1st year of sanction, but we find no statistically…

This study examines the efficacy and moderators of New York State interventions for schools in need of improvement under NCLB, including: (1) school transfer, (2) supplementary education service (3) corrective action, (4) planning for restructuring, and (5) restructuring. Despite the fact that schools in increasingly aggressive treatment groups…

Recent years have seen the convergence of two major policy streams in U.S. K-12 education: standards/accountability and teacher quality reforms. Work in these areas has led to the creation of multiple measures of teacher quality, including measures of their instructional alignment to standards/assessments, observational and student survey measures…

Test-based accountability as well as value-added asessments and much experimental and quasi-experimental research in education rely on achievement tests to measure student skills and knowledge. Yet, we know little regarding fundamental properties of these tests, an important example being the extent of measurement error and its implications for…

Teaching and assessing both content and 21st century skills are critical for student academic success and success in the workplace. In the "Highlights from TIMSS 2007" report, released in December of 2008 by the National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, data shows that while 4th- and 8th-grade students in…

The disparity between the results of state accountability tests in reading and the fourth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has left many educators dismayed and concerned. In this article the authors describe a comparison of assessment approaches evident in NAEP to the approaches taken in a sample of state tests. The authors…

In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), New York showed a clear trend of gains in reading and math at the basic-and-above, proficient-and-above, and advanced levels for all major subgroups with just a few exceptions. Achievement gaps in reading and math also narrowed at grades 4 and 8 for most…

This study examines trends in Black student achievement and in the Black-White achievement gap over the period 2000 to 2007, employing data from ten states drawn from the NAEP Grade 8 mathematics assessments. Results are obtained for three levels of aggregation: the state, school poverty stratum within the state, and schools within poverty…