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…

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…

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.…

Advancement of testing of mathematical problem-solving skills calls for open-ended, realistic tasks particularly susceptible to bias, compromising the score validity and fairness of tests. Informed by universal design principles, this study framed 360 prototype items developed for the "Problem-solving Measures Grades 6-8 Computer Adaptive…

This study examined the content alignment between an English as a foreign language skills curriculum and a provincial language test in China. When there is misalignment in the content between the standards of a curriculum and a test, conclusions about student abilities and teaching effectiveness can be questioned. To examine this, three categories…

The development of students' higher order learning is a critical component of education. For decades, educators and scientists have engaged in an ongoing debate about whether higher order learning can only be enhanced by building a base of factual knowledge (analogous to Bloom's taxonomy) or whether higher order learning can be enhanced directly…

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…

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…

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.…

This paper reports on a design-based implementation study of the use of a diagnostic classroom assessment tool framed on learning trajectories (LTs) for middle grades mathematics, where teachers and students are provided immediate data on students' progress along LTs. The study answers the question: "How can one characterize the challenges…

The primary purpose of International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2018 is to assess systematically the capacities of students to use ICT productively for a range of different purposes, in ways that go beyond a basic use of ICT. ICILS 2018 includes authentic computer-based assessments that are administered to students in their…

The internal/external (I/E) frame of reference entails high, positive association of mathematics and verbal achievements with matching academic self-concepts but negative or near-zero correlation with their nonmatching self-concepts. This study aimed to extend the traditional I/E model by contrasting the mathematics domain with two foreign…

Having a large-scale national assessment in the arts makes an important statement about the need for all children in our country to obtain the special benefits of learning that only the arts provide. In recognition of the importance of the arts in education, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation's Report…

The current study reports the results of a project aimed at assessing L2 listening comprehension by drawing on two approaches to dynamic assessment: interventionist and interactionist. The former approach was actualized by providing two graduated hints which were fixed and standardized for all test takers while the latter was actualized by asking…

National standards for student achievement have been developed in the arts in a process that paralleled the standards discussions being held in mathematics, language arts, science, history, and other areas. The standards process, while demanding, has generated important discussion and debate about which art forms, what kind of knowledge, and what…