The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation case study on the impact of standards-based grading in a North Carolina school district. The implementation procedures and end products of grading reform were assessed using the CIPP model. Data from teacher questionnaires, principal implementation checklists, interviews, and…

A significant movement is underway across the nation to design K-12 assessment systems that better equip stakeholders to provide an equitable and excellent education to each child. While some of these innovations emerged before the pandemic, the massive disruption to instruction fueled a new urgency to rethink the potential of assessments to drive…

The intersection in 2020 of the new COVID-19 pandemic with the ongoing pandemic of anti-black racism exacerbated existing injustices as well as caused and revealed new inequities in US higher education. Because inequities in assessment in particular were intensified by these twin pandemics, faculty at several US colleges revised assessment…

Preparing to become a music teacher educator is a complex process and one component of this process should be learning to model, demonstrate, and teach assessment practices to preservice music educators. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to discover how, and to what extent, music teacher educators (MTEs) are educated about…

Special education teachers must have the skills to design and deliver intensive interventions for students with severe and persistent learning and behavioral needs. To ensure effective instruction for these students, preservice preparation programs must provide their teacher candidates with opportunities to learn, apply, and practice intensive…

A Vygotskian approach to assessment is proposed by invoking the distinction between the development of lower and higher psychological functions. Higher psychological functions are specifically human and develop with the use of cultural tools via mediation. Accordingly, a distinction is made between tests that are based on association, which have…

From a sociocultural perspective to assessment, this study investigated parents' beliefs about formative assessment. When North Carolina (NC) received an Early Learning Challenge Grant, its Department of Public Instruction was funded to develop a kindergarten entry assessment. The department proposed the development of a kindergarten to third…

In this article, the authors report on the results of a three-year study they conducted on assessment practices in general education courses at Duke University as part of a three-institution (Duke, the University of Kansas, and the University of Nebraska) research project funded by the Spencer Foundation. At all three institutions, researchers…

A growing number of states are interested in tracking the readiness of children entering kindergarten. In 2010, just seven states (Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, and Vermont) collected Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) data for the purposes of aggregating data at the state level. Since this time, most states report…

Since March 2020, COVID-19 has required the implementation of remote learning options in K-12 public schools across North Carolina, ranging from fully online classroom experiences to hybrid scenarios in which students attend school both in person and remotely. In some locales, students continue to attend school in person most of the time, but with…

The edTPA has recently emerged within the past few years as an innovative Teacher Performance Assessment and is currently adopted to some extent in 34 states. Researchers conducted four focus groups with 16 teacher candidates during and immediately after completion of the edTPA at North Carolina State University. When asked to articulate about…

School psychologists are faced with the task of conducting evaluations of students in order to determine special education eligibility. This often equates to administering a cognitive assessment measure to obtain information about skills or abilities. Although this may be a straightforward task when working with children of average or higher…

In designing multiple-measure evaluation systems for teachers and principals, one of the key questions to emerge is: how to obtain student growth data for teachers of academic subjects and grades not covered by statewide assessments. Race to the Top grantees that began early to implement new evaluation systems are well on their way to…

Recent educational accountability efforts have married student assessments with reform mandates and sanctions. As a result, students--beginning in early elementary grades--are feeling the pressures of this new era of high-stakes accountability. This article chronicles a story of the consequences of high-stakes testing on a father and his son.…

The responsibility for college success has historically rested with the student, but since the 1980s, educators have taken increasing ownership of this, designing structures that increase the likelihood of learning, success, and retention. These efforts have included a variety of initiatives--first year seminars, learning communities,…