Designing for Coherence
True coherence exists when standards, curricula, instruction, assessment and professional learning are all grounded in a shared vision of student learning.
Read MoreCategory: Assessment
Changing State Assessments Won’t Improve Student Learning
If we want students to learn more, we must engage them with good teaching and meaningful content.
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Rethinking Assessment on a Shrinking, Shifting Landscape
We need systems that acknowledge the demographic shifts and data blind spots that make it harder to tell the story of student learning.
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Statewide Assessments Are Critical for Informed Public School Choice
As public school choice expands, state tests play an increasingly important role: providing a common benchmark to help families evaluate their options.
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Zero-based Assessment System Design
How an idea from budget management can help school districts break the logjams they face when they try to get rid of unnecessary tests.
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What We’re Up To: Center Presentations at NCSA 2025
We’ve got a great lineup of presentations at the National Conference on Student Assessment. Here’s a quick rundown.
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Using Reference Data to Inform Standard-Setting
States must consider setting standards when they launch a new test, revise their content standards, or make other changes that could influence assessment comparability.
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Evolving Expectations for Fairness in Testing
Comparing the two most recent versions of The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing shows the field’s changing conceptions of fairness.
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Score Reporting Isn’t Enough: What Comes Next Matters
Test score data could be more useful if we built a constellation of supports and resources that helped users see their next steps.
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The Secret to Making Policy Stick: Getting the Advice You Need
Policies don’t implement themselves. Three key advisory groups can help states move from concept to classroom.
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We’re at NCME and AERA 2025! Come Check Us Out
We’ve got a fascinating lineup of presentations at the two big education research conferences, NCME and AERA. Here’s a quick rundown.
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Generative AI and Cara’s Other Favorite Accessibility Things
Oprah has her list. We have ours. Check out the accessibility tools and innovations that Cara Laitusis loves.
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Improving Balance in Assessment Systems: Let’s Learn Together
At our conference, we’ll ask what it takes to implement balanced assessment systems and explore how tests can support or hinder teaching and learning.
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Culturally Responsive Assessment: From Classrooms to Large-Scale Settings
A new volume explores what we’ve learned about culturally responsive assessment and how we can build on it to serve students better.
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Facing Federal Contract Cancellations Head-On
The cancellation of federal research contracts cuts states’ and districts’ access to good data. These five ideas help them preserve and use the data they have.
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Comparability Isn’t All or Nothing
Understanding comparability as a multifaceted problem—not a yes-or-no issue—can help states as they create innovative assessment systems.
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Teaching & Assessing 21st Century Skills: A Focus on Student Agency
Agency—the ability to control one’s own thoughts, processes and actions—is a key skill for students to master. But assessing that mastery is challenging.
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The Challenges of Assessing 21st Century Competencies
A new report from the Center explores the challenges of assessing 21st century competencies and offers practical advice.
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