Frameworks for Evaluating Cognitive Complexity in Assessments

Posted on October 17, 2019October 11, 2019 by coreeducation

Achieve is excited to release three new frameworks – one each for mathematics, reading, and science – for the educator community working on high-quality student assessments. The frameworks, which were developed by content experts and practitioners, can be used to evaluate the cognitive complexity of assessment items (the tasks students must complete on a test) Read more about Frameworks for Evaluating Cognitive Complexity in Assessments[…]

The New Testing Landscape: How State Assessments Are Changing Under ESSA

Posted on September 24, 2019September 18, 2019 by coreeducation

State testing systems are in transition. Buffeted by anti-testing sentiment on the left and right, budget battles, and renewed debates over the role that testing plays, the recent, unprecedented push for states to collaborate on high-quality, standards-aligned assessments has given way to an increasingly fragmented marketplace. A new report from FutureEd Senior Fellow Lynn Olson Read more about The New Testing Landscape: How State Assessments Are Changing Under ESSA[…]

Assessment HQ launches State Assessment Site

Posted on August 28, 2019August 26, 2019 by coreeducation

The nonprofit Collaborative for Student Success has launched Assessment HQ, a unique online platform that takes the guesswork and risk of misinformation out of understanding state annual assessments by providing transparency on student proficiency and state testing decisions. Assessment HQ highlights state-reported student performance results in mathematics and English language arts (ELA) by student demographics Read more about Assessment HQ launches State Assessment Site[…]

50-State Comparison: State Summative Assessments

Posted on June 7, 2018June 4, 2018 by coreeducation

The Education Commission of the States’ Comparison on State Summative Assessments was just updated and now includes information on the assessments that each state is using to meet federal requirements in 2017-18. As a condition of receiving federal funds, the Every Student Succeeds Act requires state education agencies to implement statewide assessments in mathematics and Read more about 50-State Comparison: State Summative Assessments[…]

Innovative Assessment in New Hampshire

Posted on January 24, 2018January 19, 2018 by coreeducation

For those wondering what ESSA’s Innovative Testing Pilot might bring, look no further than New Hampshire. The Obama administration granted New Hampshire a first-of-its-kind waiver in 2015, allowing a subset of school districts to try out new exams made up of “complex, multi-part tasks that ask students to apply what they have learned in sophisticated Read more about Innovative Assessment in New Hampshire[…]

School Districts where Students Learn Most

Posted on December 19, 2017December 15, 2017 by coreeducation

New data from researchers at Stanford, based on some 300 million elementary-school test scores across more than 11,000 school districts, reveals the school districts where children are showing the most growth. The results do not follow conventional wisdom. Districts with high growth are scattered across the country, in contrast with sharp geographic divisions on proficiency Read more about School Districts where Students Learn Most[…]

PARCC Resources for 2017 Assessment Preparation

Posted on January 20, 2017January 15, 2017 by coreeducation

With the spring 2017 PARCC administration season set to begin in March, the consortium has made a wealth of resources available to help parents, teachers, and students all prepare for this year’s testing. Over the past two years, more than 1,300 authentic released items from PARCC assessments have been published on the Partnership Resource Center Read more about PARCC Resources for 2017 Assessment Preparation[…]

High School Assessment in a New Era: What Policymakers Need to Know

Posted on September 22, 2016September 16, 2016 by coreeducation

Achieve has partnered with the Center for Assessment to release a new brief to help state policymakers identify key action steps to consider as they make decisions about high school assessments. The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) gives states a new opportunity in how they approach high school assessment. Most significantly, it will Read more about High School Assessment in a New Era: What Policymakers Need to Know[…]

CEP Survey Finds Teachers Are Feeling Stressed

Posted on June 9, 2016June 5, 2016 by coreeducation

Although they find parts of their jobs immensely rewarding, many teachers feel ignored in education policy discussions and are frustrated with the constantly changing demands on them, a new survey finds. Listen to Us: Teacher Views and Voices released by the nonprofit Center on Education Policy, is based on online interviews with a nationally representative Read more about CEP Survey Finds Teachers Are Feeling Stressed[…]

Shifts in the National Assessment Landscape

Posted on April 12, 2016April 12, 2016 by coreeducation

An Education Week survey of states’ testing plans in English/language arts and math—the two subjects covered by the Common Core—found that states have continued in 2015-16 to drift away from the tests designed by the assessment corsortia, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, and Smarter Balanced tests. Here’s how Read more about Shifts in the National Assessment Landscape[…]

PARCC Allows States to Customize Tests

Posted on January 15, 2016January 8, 2016 by coreeducation

PARCC has announced that it will now offer states the option of buying parts of its testing system and choosing their own vendor. Previously, states could purchase only the entire system, and they had to use Pearson for test administration. This announcement comes as testing plans for 2015-16 show a dwindling number of states using Read more about PARCC Allows States to Customize Tests[…]

Trends in State Assessment Selection and Implementation

Posted on January 7, 2016December 23, 2015 by coreeducation

Policymakers currently face major challenges when it comes to assessments. Are the assessments aligned to the state’s standards? Are students spending too much time taking tests? Should new assessments be used in school performance ratings? These questions, among others, loom large when states tackle the subject of assessment-related policy. A new report from Education Commission Read more about Trends in State Assessment Selection and Implementation[…]

Aspen Institute Releases Checklist for Education Policymakers

Posted on January 6, 2016December 23, 2015 by coreeducation

In the last several years, state policymakers have enacted a dizzying array of new policies on education issues ranging from assessment and accountability to cursive-handwriting and citizenship exams. Within states, education policy-making isn’t led by one person or entity, but many — state legislatures, state education agencies, state and local boards of education, the governor, Read more about Aspen Institute Releases Checklist for Education Policymakers[…]

Study on Urban Schools: Students take too many Redundant Tests

Posted on November 17, 2015November 13, 2015 by coreeducation

A recent study conducted by the Council of the Great City Schools, based in Washington and representing the nation’s largest urban school districts, gauges the scope of tests being administered to students. The findings are that the tests are, according to Denisa Superville from Education Week: redundant, misaligned with college- and career-ready standards, and not Read more about Study on Urban Schools: Students take too many Redundant Tests[…]

Obama Administration and ED Publish Guidelines to Reduce Over-Testing

Posted on November 2, 2015October 31, 2015 by coreeducation

The Obama administration, this past week, asked the Education Department to review its policies and determine any places where it may have contributed to overemphasis on testing and the loss of instructional time. The key actions set forth by the Administration are as follows: Financial support for states to develop and use better, less burdensome Read more about Obama Administration and ED Publish Guidelines to Reduce Over-Testing[…]

The American Public and Testing In Schools

Posted on September 14, 2015September 12, 2020 by coreeducation

Anya Kamenetz at NPR News has put together an interesting article on American public opinion on testing. The reason for her article was two recent polls, (poll released Aug. 17 by EdNext) and (poll released Aug. 24 by Gallup/PDK). These polls vary slightly in the way that they ask respondents for their opinions about the Read more about The American Public and Testing In Schools[…]