States should continue to implement high-quality school accountability systems, regardless of the level or nature of federal oversight.
Topics: Federal
States should keep giving statewide tests even if the Trump administration stops enforcing federal assessment laws.
A collection of presentations on the consequential uses of assessment, from the Center’s 2024 conference.
Pressure to improve our school accountability systems is mounting. Criticism of accountability isn’t new, but it intensified in 2020, driven by two unprecedented crises: COVID-related school closures and a national […]
The last few years have produced a groundswell of interest in improving our school accountability systems. Some suggest it’s necessary to fine-tune current practices, while others advocate sweeping reforms that […]
More than a dozen states are exploring or piloting through-year assessments to replace their current end-of-year summative test for accountability. Although moving to a through-year assessment program may provide a […]
Through-year assessment is enjoying a surge of attention, with more than a dozen states designing, piloting, or implementing versions of this assessment model to replace their current end-of-year summative test […]
The Operational Best Practices for Accountability are intended to provide states with guidance and criteria for the design, development, implementation, evaluation, and potential revision of accountability systems under ESSA. These […]
By describing what is to be assessed and how to assess it, assessment frameworks play a pivotal role in testing programs. This technical memo discusses how large-scale assessment sponsors initiate, […]
From Session 4 of the 2021 Convening on Through-Year Assessment: The final session will involve turning the tables. Center for Assessment professionals and some external experts will be invited to […]
A complete list of the schools approved for Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act as of September 2021.
This companion document to our “assessment flexibility guidance” is meant to support states requesting assessment flexibility from the U.S. Department of Education for their spring 2021 assessments.
In partnership with Council of Chief State School Officers, this document is designed to support state leaders seeking flexibility in their state assessment programs for 2021.
Educational assessments are powerful tools for guiding and informing teaching, learning, and school and district improvement. They are one of the multiple measures policymakers can use to improve the performance […]
Chris Domaleski explores design principles and approaches to steer accountability systems toward better balance and coherence.
This paper provides a set of assessment and accountability recommendations for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The authors also recommend changes to the Innovative Assessment Demonstration […]
This paper, supported by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), provides guidance to help states develop and validate exit criteria for schools identified as needing Comprehensive Supports and […]
This policy brief summarizes our paper, presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education, on the design considerations for balanced systems of assessment. We also […]