This is the second in a series of policy notes and related publications exploring prospects for developing indicators of teaching quality. The first examined federal databases that include information about teachers, demonstrating that almost none of the measures in these datasets provides indication of teaching quality. This policy note takes the…

In spite of Tea Party criticism, union skepticism, and anti-testing outcries, the campaign to implement Common Core State Standards (otherwise known as Common Core) has achieved phenomenal success in statehouses across the country. Since 2011, 45 states have raised their standards for student proficiency in reading and math, with the greatest…

A growing number of school districts--including large ones like those in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Hawaii--have become recent converts to new principal-evaluation systems that tie school leaders' appraisals to student test scores. As of this school year, student achievement accounts for 40 percent to 50 percent of principals' evaluations…

The latest batch of states seeking relief under the No Child Left Behind Act dodge pitfalls that tripped up the first round of applicants. In the latest round of applications for waivers under the No Child Left Behind Act, states have learned lessons from their predecessors and dodged pitfalls that triggered some big revisions from first-round…

Even as the Internet and i-devices have changed so many parts of people's lives, educational testing has not changed substantially in decades. Though researchers and educators have for years raised ample concerns about existing tests, assessments have barely evolved. Further, despite years of expanded testing and greater school accountability,…

While there are many factors critical to improving America's primary and secondary schools, strengthening teacher education is an essential part of any strategy likely to make a difference. When the Obama administration created the Race to the Top or RTT Fund--"to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education…

The decade following the publication of the No Child Left Behind Act 2001 was an innovative period with respect to inclusive assessment practices for students with disabilities (SWDs). As the United States educational policies under the Obama Administration's Race to the Top initiative re-conceive the inclusion of SWDs in state assessment-based…

Following the U.S. financial crisis of 2008, demands on our social safety nets grew as federal, state, and local revenues declined. Projected shortfalls are forcing deep cuts in state and local services including education. It is too early to know fully the nature of the cuts or impacts on various communities and constituencies. This article looks…

School accountability is subject to considerable scrutiny. It generates sharp political debate, policy challenges, and continuous discussion. Growth models are now a part of that discussion. To many practitioners the sheer volume of "important to know" information is daunting. The members of the Technical Issues in Large Scale Assessment…

The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) supports the development and implementation of learning and assessment systems to radically reshape the education enterprise in participating States in order to improve student outcomes. SBAC believes that the current "drop from the sky" approaches to educational testing are ineffective…