Right-Sizing ESSA Accountability
States can create an accountability mix that right-sizes federal requirements and their own priorities, by blending or separating the two.
Read MoreCategory: Education Policy
How Do State Leaders Want to Change the Every Student Succeeds Act?
ESSA is widely criticized, but our new survey shows that most assessment and accountability leaders favor few changes.
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Assessment Consequences Matter: A Look Back at RILS 2024
Our annual conference asked an important question: How do we minimize the unintended negative consequences of assessment for individuals and systems?
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Redistributing Responsibility for Teachers’ Assessment Literacy
Understanding assessment and using it well should be the responsibility of the entire school community, not just its teachers.
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Is Your Accountability System Working the Way It Should?
Few states evaluate their systems to see if they’re working well. We examined one state’s consistency in identifying the right schools for support.
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Bringing a Fresh Perspective to Assessment Purpose
Two California school districts conducted reviews of their required assessments. In the second of a two-part series, we share what they learned.
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Eliminating Unnecessary District-Required Assessments
Two California school districts conducted reviews of their required assessments. In the first of a two-part series, we share what they learned.
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Let’s Take Stock of High-Stakes Testing
A debate has roiled for decades about using educational assessments for consequential decisions. We’ll dive into that debate at RILS 2024.
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Stop Trying to Use Commercial Interim Tests for Instructional Purposes
The concept of “strategic abandonment” sheds light on the appropriate uses of commercial interim assessments. Instructional utility isn’t one of them.
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Moving Education From Accountability to Shared Responsibility
Shifting from an accountability mindset to reciprocal responsibility could transform the way schools, districts and states work toward improvement.
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Strengthening Ties Between Accountability and School Improvement
Do school accountability systems support effective school improvement practices? If not, where is the system breaking down and how can we fix it?
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Reimagining Balanced Assessment Systems
An important new book from the National Academy of Education can support state and district leaders in building balanced assessment systems.
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Peer Review: Can Emerging Programs Meet the Requirements?
Through-year and other novel test designs face challenges in peer review. Three changes by the U.S. Department of Education could improve the process.
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A Call for Extending Open Access in K-12 Education
We must share our knowledge broadly, free of charge, without restriction, to support an important public good: improving outcomes for all students.
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Do We Really Need to Test All Students Every Year?
We can reduce testing in schools without sacrificing meaningful annual reports on students’ learning.
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Can We Reduce Testing in K-12 Schools?
State testing has long been criticized for many reasons. We undertook a study to examine what tradeoffs might be necessary to reduce the footprint of state testing. Here’s a preview of our early findings.
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Federal Innovative Assessment Pilot: Now Open to All States
In a bid to jump-start the program, USED expands the IADA. Nearly $22 million is potentially available to support work on new state assessments.
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School Accountability Is Broken
It’s time to create school accountability systems that recognize the unique roles and responsibilities of states, districts and schools.
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