Safeguarding State Assessment
States should consider key safeguards to maintain strong assessment systems, in case the U.S. Department of Education can no longer enforce ESSA.
Read MoreCategory: State
Don’t Start With Assessment: Navigating State Involvement in 21st Century Competencies
Before states jump into assessing 21st century competencies, they need to step back to consider some key tradeoffs and questions.
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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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Preserving the Human Connection in the Age of GenAI in Schools
Generative AI cannot replace the relationships among adults and children that are crucial for healthy development and 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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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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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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Subtraction in Assessment and Accountability (Re)Design
Resisting our urge to add design layers to assessment and accountability systems—and subtracting instead—can produce better solutions.
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Assessment Score Reports Must Get Better!
Two relatively easy changes in states’ assessment score reports can go a long way toward helping users understand the results.
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Equity and the Accessibility Game Plan
Key strategies from the world of accessibility offer helpful guidance in advancing equity in educational testing in K12 schools.
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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.
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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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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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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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