Narrative case studies have shown that, when people are involved in an evaluation of a program they are part of, it can change how they experience the program. This study used a quasi-experiment to test this proposition empirically in the context a participatory action research curriculum called Youth as Researchers. Half of all Youth as…

Although the COVID-19 situation was stressful for all faculty, staff, and students at Mercyhurst University, it provided a much-needed opportunity to improve assessment practices across the institution. Changing assessment reporting procedures for the 2019-2020 academic year to a more reflective, collaborative model is helping to shift faculty…

Many preschool agencies nationwide continue to experience closures and/or conversions to virtual or hybrid instruction due to the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite the importance of understanding young children's learning and development during the COVID emergency, limited knowledge exists on adaptable practices for…

EXCEL spreadsheet algorithms were developed at Villanova University to efficiently and consistently retrieve information from ASPEN® flowsheets and used for grading work in senior design. The challenge is to take a large volume of data that is in the stream and unit operations reports and quickly and consistently calculate a list of key grading…

The intersection in 2020 of the new COVID-19 pandemic with the ongoing pandemic of anti-black racism exacerbated existing injustices as well as caused and revealed new inequities in US higher education. Because inequities in assessment in particular were intensified by these twin pandemics, faculty at several US colleges revised assessment…

Data collection procedures using adapted Curriculum-Based Assessment (CBA) and Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) were developed for deaf and hard of hearing students. Results from statistical analyses through linear regression indicated that reading fluency scores using CBA and CBM materials adapted for deaf and hard of hearing students…

Critical literacy is an appropriate learning outcome for social studies courses because it has the potential to teach students how to critically evaluate sources of information relevant to historical texts and current news media. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine the process through which students learned to apply critical…

Preparing to become a music teacher educator is a complex process and one component of this process should be learning to model, demonstrate, and teach assessment practices to preservice music educators. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to discover how, and to what extent, music teacher educators (MTEs) are educated about…

Research has consistently demonstrated the importance of early literacy instruction, as these skills are the developmental precursors to conventional reading. In this study, 215 early childhood educators in two states responded to a survey regarding early literacy curricula and assessment. Results indicated that most teachers used either a…

This manuscript presents findings from a study of the contributing factors and details of special education due process hearings in the United States that involved students with emotional and behavioral disorders. The study examined 101 due process hearings conducted over a three-year period in a five-state sample: California, Illinois,…

Schools have limited experience and little guidance to identify and install evidence-based and promising programs and practices/interventions (EBPs) within advanced tiers of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (SWPBIS). One form of guidance is the Hexagon Tool which can be used to ensure a match between the EBP and student…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Using National Benchmarking Data to Improve Student Learning in Chemistry at Lebanon Valley College (Marc A. Harris); (2) Mutually Dependent Outcomes: Using Assessment to Improve First-Year Retention and Student Learning (Alan Bearman and Elaine Lewis); (3) Emergent…

Formative assessment is considered to be an evaluation technique that informs the instructor of the level of student learning, giving evidence when it may be necessary for the instructor to make a change in delivery based upon the results. Several theories of formative assessment exist, all which propound the importance of feedback to the student.…

Systematic evaluation of a library's collection can be a useful tool for collection development. After reviewing three evaluation methods and their usefulness for our small academic library, I undertook a usage-based evaluation, focusing on narrow segments of our collection that served specific undergraduate courses. For each section, I collected…

Engineering byDesign™ (EbD) provides teachers and students with reflective, formative, and comprehensive summative assessment tools throughout the curriculum. Each lesson, unit, and course is created with a list of essential questions that are meant to guide students to a deeper understanding of national standards across the STEM domains (STL,…