Center for Assessment team members write and present extensively on topics relating to assessment and accountability. As part of our mission and in order to increase and improve assessment and accountability practices nationally, we make our guides, presentations, papers, reports and other resources widely available.
Library
An Introduction to Accountability Implementation: A Preface to the Operations, Performance Standards, and Evaluation Resources
In this paper, Senior Associates Juan D’Brot and Leslie Keng describe highlight critical areas where states are poised to examine practice and collect evidence to support the development of an overall validity argument for their accountability systems. This paper serves as an overview for a series of resources the authors developed as part of the State Plan Implementation Meeting convened by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) in April, 2018. The three areas include These areas include operations and quality control, setting performance expectations for schools, and establishing plans for monitoring and evaluating their accountability systems.
Authors:
Juan D'Brot
Leslie Keng
Files:
Date:
2018-07-01
Innovative Assessment and Accountability Systems that Support Continuous Improvement under ESSA: Practical Considerations and Early Research
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) addresses concerns about the effects of high-stakes achievement tests by authorizing a pilot program that allows up to seven states to apply for a waiver from federal assessment and accountability regulations. These innovative assessment and accountability systems are important because they have the potential to re-align state assessment systems in such a way that there is coherence between the underlying theory of learning, goals and purposes for the assessment system, and design of the assessment system. However, there has been little focused work on specifying the practical considerations related to the design and implementation of innovative systems as well as the relationship between key elements of such systems, student achievement outcomes, and continuous improvement.
Authors:
Carla Evans
Andresse St. Rose
Paul Leather
Files:
Date:
2018-06-29
Alabama’s State Assessment System: Recommendations from the Assessment Task Force
Juan D’Brot and Scott Marion led an Assessment Task Force for the Alabama State Department of Education to help create this framework for Alabama’s next statewide assessment system.
Authors:
Juan D'Brot
Scott Marion
Date:
2018-05-01
Establishing Performance Standards for School Accountability Systems
This paper outlines a framework for setting standards for school accountability systems, which is illustrated with two state programs. Application of the framework bolsters the validity of the system for supporting the intended interpretations and uses.
Authors:
Chris Domaleski
Juan D'Brot
Leslie Keng
Russ Keglovits
Ann‐Michelle Neal
Date:
2018-04-30
What’s Wrong with High School Testing and What Can We Do About It?
Scott Marion discusses the challenges and issues associated with current high school testing models and offers some thoughts about how we can improve current practices.