High-quality early childhood programs aim to foster children's learning through developmentally appropriate practices and environments. Early childhood assessments, when well designed and well implemented, can support developmentally appropriate early learning experiences by providing information to guide instruction and support whole child…

Preparing future citizens for postsecondary education and careers that span a continuum of sophistication is not a new topic in education. However, the rapid changes in technology and increased competition from industrialized nations have changed the landscape and meaning of college and career readiness. As part of a strategy to better prepare…

Testing students once a year, with data reported many months later, is like using an autopsy to determine how to help a patient, says Cindy Ambrose, chief academic officer of the Horry County Schools in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In Horry County and many other districts around the country, assessment that monitors vital signs on an ongoing…

A model is presented for including student outcome measures on teacher evaluation systems when there are needs for both formative and summative evaluation data. The experiences of Kentucky and Georgia provided bases for the development of the dual purpose assessment model. Pilot tests in Kentucky and Georgia were specific to the top-down…

State law requires that all certified professional personnel employed in Georgia school systems have their performance evaluated annually by trained evaluators. The Georgia School Counselor Evaluation Program (GSCEP) was designed to be used across all systems and schools for annual formative and summative evaluation purposes. The process used to…