Accreditation holds a place within accountability systems as a mechanism to evaluate quality that leads to the practices that certify credentials. In K-12 school district these credentials manifest in curriculum, instruction, standards, and ultimately the certifying of credits that lead to receipt of a diploma. School district leadership would…

The Indiana Department of Education's (IDOE) Accessibility and Accommodations Guidance is intended for school-level personnel and decision-making teams as they prepare for and implement Indiana State Assessments. Information is provided for school personnel to use in selecting and administering universal tools, designated features, and…

In partnership with the National Charter School Resource Center (NCSRC), the National Association for Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) has been conducting authorizer assessments over the past six years. However, the correlation between high-quality authorization practices and charter school impact has largely been unexplored. This report uses a…

As a charter school faces continued poor performance and the need to show drastic improvement in its data, school leaders are faced with a moral dilemma. To help the schools testing data, leaders consider being selective with whom they test. They consider whether they can help the short-term outcomes of the school while risking later consequences…

There is almost nothing more frustrating to an institutional researcher than seeing university leaders ignore data. The case study in this article examines how an institutional research office was able to put data to work in enrollment services and produce record-setting numbers of applications, admissions, and confirmations within a nine-month…

All students, including students with disabilities, must be included in state accountability systems as required by law. In April 2007, federal regulations provided states the flexibility to offer another assessment option--an Alternate Assessment based on Modified Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) for some students with disabilities. The AA-MAS is…

Educational assessment and, more broadly, educational research in the United States have entered into an era characterized by a dramatic increase in the prevalence and importance of test score use in accountability systems. This volume covers a selection of contemporary issues about testing science and practice that impact the nation's public…

Educational improvement through data-based decision-making using high-quality data is a longstanding goal of policymakers and practitioners, and ensuring the quality of the evidence available to inform such decisions is a key part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The evidence-based education that such initiatives promote involves the…

In responding to internal and external pressures for accountability in higher education, especially in the areas of improved learning outcomes and student success, IT leaders may soon become critical partners with academic and student affairs. IT can help answer this call for accountability through "academic analytics," which is emerging…