Study Island is a practice and assessment tool that provides state-standards-aligned opportunities for students to practice their skills. It features a system of continual assessments with immediate feedback to adjust instruction and learning. When educators integrate Study Island into their instructional practices, it acts as a formative, ongoing…

Study Island is a practice and assessment tool that provides state-standards-aligned opportunities for students to practice their skills. Study Island is a system of continual assessments with immediate feedback to adjust instruction and learning. When educators integrate Study Island into their instructional practices, it acts as a formative,…

Federal law requires that all students, including students with disabilities, participate in state assessments used for accountability purposes. It also requires states to assess students in several content areas, including science. Most students with disabilities take the general science assessment with or without accommodations, but a few…

After serving as a high school math teacher in Maryland for three years, the author moved to teaching sixth-grade math. His high school background led him to differentiate differently than his colleagues. The article discusses his observations and his conclusions and offers a plan to implement changes in the way mathematics is taught through…

Using longitudinal data on spanning the 2002-03 through 2007-08 school years in Florida and North Carolina, this paper decomposes the workforce dynamics among teachers and principals in low-performing schools that significantly improved their performance. In general, I find strong, consistent evidence of human capital development (i.e.,…

Using historical test data from the standardized testing program (LEAP, iLEAP) in the state of Louisiana, this sequential mixed methods study utilized hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) and a logistic regression method to test alternate measures of school performance (student achievement model, growth model, and transition to 9th grade) applied to…

Education policymakers and leaders often say that the opinions and observations of teachers are among the most important information to help explain and understand what is happening in schools. Teachers' voices can inject a sense of classroom and school-level realism into those discussions and add clarity and credibility to issues that are often…

The purpose of this research was to examine the level of School-wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) implementation in the State of Florida. The relationship between implementation fidelity of SWPBS to academic and behavioral outcomes for elementary and middle schools was then analyzed. The results of this study found that SWPBS is being…

This article reports the results of a study examining the utility of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) in algebra for predicting performance on a state math assessment and informing instructional placement decisions for students in seventh, eighth, and tenth grades. Students completed six Basic Skills algebra probes across different time…

This report is a follow-up to "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades" (Williams, Kirst, Haertel, et al., 2010). That study specified a comprehensive set of actionable practices that differentiated higher academic achievement among 303 middle grades schools in California. In doing so, the study provided a compelling and coherent account of…

Presented at the National Conference on Student Assessment in Orlando, hosted by the CCSSO (Council of Chief State School Officers), June 2008. This presentation explores use of the assessments within the classroom and how those choices can affect performance and learning.

In an ideal world, curricula would be designed in response to the developmental needs of learners, but this may not be the reality of the current situation. States have a variety of standards, and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for student performance on tests that are intended to align with these standards. As a result, student…

Over the past five years the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has used the results of the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) to rate public school performance on the School Accountability Report (SAR). The public often considers the school ratings as indicative of the school's quality. There appears to be a lack of quantitative…

This research studies the effects of mobility on the high-stakes test scores of a Title I South Central Texas school district. The study involved 10, 5th-grade elementary feeder school populations graduating to the 6th grade in 3 middle schools. The researcher compared the 1st administration scores of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills…

Based on in-depth data from nine demographically similar schools, the study asks five questions in regard to key aspects of the improvement process and that speak to the consequential validity of accountability indicators: Do schools that differ widely according to system performance criteria also differ on the quality of the educational…