Each year the National Reference Test (NRT) reports the proportions of students achieving at or above three key GCSE grades in English and mathematics. The NRT is therefore uniquely placed as a Key Stage 4 assessment which compares performance directly at ability level, to contribute to the evidence on the impact of disruption to education due to…

As they think about their future, high school students can face a wide range of education and career choices. How do they choose? Who helps young people make their educational and career choices? In particular, to what extent do schools help students with these decisions? Given the importance of education and career decisions for life success,…

Parental involvement is seen as one of the most malleable factors of the student's home situation, which makes it a relevant subject for schools, educational policies, and research. Though many studies have researched its role in student achievement, effects are not univocal. It is difficult to tell whether these inconsistent results are caused by…

Large numbers of young people in the United States were in foster care or in juvenile justice custody as teenagers, and many of them have a difficult time making a successful transition to independent adulthood as they leave these systems. Most of them faced a number of disadvantages during childhood and often have poor outcomes across several…

The Benchmarking Alumni Relations in Community Colleges white paper features key data on alumni relations programs at community colleges across the United States. The paper compares results from 2015 and 2012 across such areas as the structure, operations and budget for alumni relations, alumni data collection and management, alumni communications…

This technical report provides detailed information regarding the technical, statistical, and measurement attributes of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) for the Grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics 2018 Operational Tests. This report includes information about test content and test development, item (i.e., individual…

The ED School Climate Surveys (EDSCLS) are a suite of survey instruments being developed for schools, school districts, and states by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Through the EDSCLS, schools nationwide will have access to survey instruments and a survey platform that will allow for the…

One major issue with large-scale assessments is that the respondents might give no responses to many items, resulting in less accurate estimations of both assessed abilities and item parameters. This report studies how the types of items affect the item-level nonresponse rates and how different methods of treating item-level nonresponses have an…

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a state-led consortium designed to create next-generation assessments that, compared to traditional K-12 assessments, more accurately measure student progress toward college and career readiness. The PARCC assessments are aligned to the Common Core State Standards…

This paper investigates four methods of linear equating under the common item nonequivalent groups design. Three of the methods are well known: Tucker, Angoff-Levine, and Congeneric-Levine. A fourth method is presented as a variant of the Congeneric-Levine method. Using simulation data generated from the three-parameter logistic IRT model we…

This technical report provides detailed information regarding the technical, statistical, and measurement attributes of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) for the Grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics 2017 Operational Tests. This report includes information about test content and test development, item (i.e., individual…

The first operational administration of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) took place during the 2014-2015 school year. In addition to the traditional paper-and-pencil format, the assessments were available for administration on a variety of electronic devices, including desktop computers, laptop computers,…

This technical report is one in a series of five describing the reliability (test/retest an alternate form) and G-Theory/D-Study on the easyCBM reading measures, grades 1-5. Data were gathered in the spring of 2011 from the convenience sample of students nested within classrooms at a medium-sized school district in the Pacific Northwest. Due to…

This technical report is one in a series of five describing the reliability (test/retest and alternate form) and G-Theory/D-Study research on the easyCBM reading measures, grades 1-5. Data were gathered in the spring of 2011 from a convenience sample of students nested within classrooms at a medium-sized school district in the Pacific Northwest.…

This technical report is one in a series of five describing the reliability (test/retest and alternate form) and G-Theory/D-Study research on the easyCBM reading measures, grades 1-5. Data were gathered in the spring of 2011 from a convenience sample of students nested within classrooms at a medium-sized school district in the Pacific Northwest.…