Districts and schools are under pressure to increase student academic outcomes while meeting their various social-behavioral needs. This pressure is compounded by the responsibility of creating climates that are safe and equitable for all students where teachers can teach, and all students can learn. However, far too often, negative, and…

In the United States, standardized tests shape what, how, and why English Language Arts teachers teach. For the last generation, these tests have increasingly taken a narrowly text-centered approach to literature, making it difficult to enact or research alternatives. But what if it were otherwise? In the current study, we asked teachers to…

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with NWEA for the development of the 2024 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP). The 2024 Grades 6 and 7 English Language…

New York State public school students in grades 3-8 are required to take the Common Core assessments, now based on Next Generation Learning Standards, in English language arts and mathematics. Students are also required to take English and Algebra Regents exams in high school. Elementary students who often perform on-grade level in the classroom…

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with Questar Assessment Inc. (Questar) for the development of the 2020 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP). The 2020…

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with Questar Assessment Inc. (Questar) for the development of the 2020 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP). The 2020…

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…

Parents, educators, and students have criticized the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects for expecting students to regurgitate evidence from assigned texts rather than think for themselves. This article argues that this popular critique is accurate and that…

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…

Transition curricula are courses, learning modules, or online tutorials typically developed jointly by secondary and postsecondary faculty and offered no later than 12th grade to students at risk of being placed into remedial math or English programs in college. Based on interviews and other data, this brief describes key elements of English…

Automatic assessment of the quality of classroom discourse can have a transformative effect on research and practice on improving teaching effectiveness. We improve on a previous automated method to measure teacher authentic questions -- open-ended questions without pre-scripted responses that predict student achievement growth -- using classroom…

With adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in a majority of U.S. states came the rapid development of new high-stakes exams. Though researchers have investigated CCSS and related policy initiatives, less attention has been directed toward understanding how the standards have been translated into testing programs. Due to the strong…

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…

Due in part to higher demands for educational accountability at both the Federal and state levels, the role of the school principal has come to the forefront. Previous literature has considered the indirect ways in which school principals affect student achievement. Of particular interest has been the implementation of instructional leadership by…