The educational system in Ghana has undergone various reforms as a result of colonisation, changes in government and constitutional amendments. These reforms have been accompanied by changes in educational assessment programmes. This paper explored the history of educational assessment in Ghana, understanding how educational reforms, colonisation…

"Through-year assessments" are assessments that are administered in multiple parts and at different times over the course of a school year that also produce summative scores that can be used with state accountability systems (Lorié et al., 2021; Dadey & Gong, 2023). These assessments are alternatively known as instructionally…

This volume centres the notion of "chance" in education as a key concept in contemporary education -- relating to aspects like accountability, datafication, or international large-scale assessments -- and discusses the impact that the historical desire to "tame" this notion has had on present-day educational policy and…

State and federal policymakers "see" school performance via formal measures -- data collected with attendance sheets and standardized tests. Such an approach, though not without its merits, is extremely limited and inherently exposed to the threat of systematic misperception and unintended consequences, especially as policymakers try to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the way "moderation" is defined and operationalised at UK universities. It is hoped that this investigation provides pointers for modifications in university documentation and practices, as well as indicates possible areas for future research. Design/methodology/approach: This paper begins…

ETS experts are exploring and defining the standards for responsible AI use in assessments. A comprehensive framework and principles will be unveiled in the coming months. In the meantime, this document outlines the critical areas these standards will encompass, including the principles of: (1) Fairness and bias mitigation; (2) Privacy and…

The aim of the article is to support critical consideration about what quality is and might be in ECEC. It argues that two different quality cultures -- understandings of what quality is, how it may be understood and supported -- intersect and create tensions in relation to the ECEC area in Denmark. One is analyzed as influenced by a transnational…

The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) accredits all public schools in the state through the Kansas Education System of Accreditation (KESA). KESA is designed to evaluate at a system level, meaning school districts, a system of schools, or an independent school not affiliated with a school district. District leaders have been frustrated…

Over the last decade, there have been multiple recommendations for evaluating, assessing, or holding teacher preparation accountable. This article analyzes recent policy proposals regarding "best practices for evaluating teacher preparation programs" by critiquing 19 major reports explicitly focused on evaluation. The analysis revealed…

The implementation of Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) has been successful in multiple elementary systems across the United States. Providing three tiers of support for students struggling academically, social-emotionally, and behaviorally in the classroom setting and created success for many students until they reach the secondary level,…

The implementation of Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) has been successful in elementary systems across the United States. For secondary schools, the implementation of MTSS has not been as successful. Secondary teachers often note difficulties include understanding data from different sources, what sources are available, and how it applies…

Shifts in the education system to more student-centered learning will require state and local education agencies to rethink how they do their work. Current accountability systems focus on compliance with standards, as demonstrated in annual summative assessments. Mark Elgart explains that a new approach to accountability will offer more authentic…

The accountability era has produced school grading systems that purport to evaluate school effectiveness yet utilize hegemonic formulas that label low-scoring schools and neighborhoods, depriving them of incentive monies tied to their school grades. This quantitative study analyzed the publicly available data of 106 elementary schools in one large…

Educational equity is understood as the recognition of a school system to ensure resources to safeguard that all students have equitable access, opportunity, and outcomes (Galloway & Ishimaru, 2015). Yet inequity persists in the American educational system. School accountability remains at the forefront of education policy to ensure equitable…

The global pandemic prompted universities to rethink how assessment might be reconfigured to better support student learning across different modes of delivery resulting in unprecedented, large-scale, and rapid institutional change. Significantly, there has been a dearth of empirical studies examining the nuances of staff experiences of how they…