This research employed a mixed-methods approach to explore the best practices of ordinary national educational testing (O-NET) to improve the quality of basic education. The methodology was divided into four phases, the first of which was a survey and analysis of the current situation at ONET. The sample group was made up of representatives of the…

Effective assessments can illuminate strengths, pinpoint learning gaps, and better guide education. This Spotlight will help readers evaluate effective ways to offer students feedback; examine how some states are transitioning to through-year testing models; hear from educators regarding pressure for student success on standardized tests; gain…

Educational assessment is important. But in the twenty-first century it is easy to feel that schooling and other phases of education are shaped entirely by certain assessments, and that assessment is only about exam results. The idea that test grades can accurately describe the aims and outcomes of education is unfair and reductive. Yet it is a…

The synergy, or lack thereof, between large-scale and classroom assessment has been fiercely debated in both academic and policy spheres for decades around the world. This paper seeks to explicate how different countries are utilizing large-scale testing and test results at the classroom level. Through country profiles, this paper analyzes…

In this commentary, the authors have set out some areas where they see overlaps between the original position paper and the current discussion around theory and practice in language assessment, the key consideration of washback, and the need for a greater awareness of, and engagement with, the assessment literacy of policy-makers and other key…

In this digital ITEMS module, Nikole Gregg and Dr. Brian Leventhal discuss strategies to ensure data visualizations achieve graphical excellence. Data visualizations are commonly used by measurement professionals to communicate results to examinees, the public, educators, and other stakeholders. To do so effectively, it is important that these…

This webinar discussed the importance of the instructional sensitivity of assessments and encouraged dialogue about how the use of results from instructionally sensitive assessments can promote teacher effectiveness. This Q&A addressed the questions participants had for Dr. Popham following the webinar. The webinar recording and PowerPoint…

After an introduction that briefly describes the two studies on which this article is based, we provide background information on Mexico's education system and the sociopolitical context of the country, and we explain relevant issues of this context for education, arising from the transition from an authoritarian to a democratic political system,…

This is the final installment of a 3-part series of articles proposing substantial changes in assessment practices, urging school psychologists to write reports that are responsive to the needs of primary consumers--parents and educators, in particular. According to the author, the prevailing practice of writing long, complex reports with a focus…

This article summarizes assessment of cognitive skills through collaborative tasks, using field test results from the Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills (ATC21S) project. This project, sponsored by Cisco, Intel, and Microsoft, aims to help educators around the world enable students with the skills to succeed in future career and…

The ubiquitous use of standardized test results to make varied judgments about educators, students, and schools within the public school system raises concerns of validity. If the test results have not been validated for making multiple determinations, then the decisions made about educators, students, schools, and school districts based on the…

Across the nation, state and local leaders have embraced two critical goals for public education: quality and equity. Students should be better prepared than they have been in the past; the goal now is for all students to graduate from high school ready for college and career. All students, regardless of race, economic background or geographic…

The achievement gap between White and African American students on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) is an educational phenomenon that has been around for generations and yet to be fully understood or eliminated. This study investigated the difference in school climate perceptions between African American and Caucasian (sic) elementary school…

Assessment of human abilities and behaviors is enormously enhanced by the use of standardized assessment measures that yield norm-referenced scores. As school psychologists, they rely on quantitative findings to anchor their judgments about a child's developmental and educational functioning and to enhance our capacity to draw diagnostic…

As school psychologists know, and as a recent survey confirms, school psychologists devote considerably more time to conducting mandated assessments for special education than to any other professional activity (Curtis, Castillo, & Gelley, 2012). A major part of this activity involves documenting assessment findings in the form of a written…