Center for Standards, Assessment, and Accountability

Grade Level: Elementary School (K-5)

Teaching English-Language Learners: What Does the Research Tell Us?

What instruction works best for English language learners (ELLs) is far from settled. This article addresses this issue by reviewing the research on ELL instruction, including effectiveness of different instructional methods and practices for different populations of ELL students. The article also provides background on: federal law regarding ELL instruction, common types of ELL programs, […]

Understanding Formative Assessment: A Special Report

From the website summary: “Formative assessment is one of the most widely used – but poorly understood – instructional techniques. This special report highlights common misconceptions about the approach and shows how formative assessment differs from other kinds of assessments, such as summative or benchmark tests. It also illuminates some ways that educators can use […]

Closing in on Close Reading

This article provides both a rationale for close reading and concrete steps for implementing it in the classroom. It also puts close reading into the context of other recent instruction approaches, such as making self-to-text connections. 

Results of President Obama’s Race to the Top

From the Publisher: “This study examines the effects of Obama’s Race to the Top [funding initiative] on education policymaking around the country. The overall findings . . . indicate that Race to the Top had a meaningful impact on the production of education policy across the United States. In its aftermath, all states experienced a marked surge in the adoption of education […]

A Blueprint for Creative Schools

The task force from the createCA coalition authored this guidance document which presented critical issues in education and made a series of policy recommendations to embed the arts into the fabric of the educational system. Two overarching themes are found throughout the Blueprint: infusing the 4 Cs of 21st Century Learning (critical thinking, communication, collaboration […]

Empowering Parents with Data: Ensuring Parents Have Data to Make Informed Choices

This two-page infographic presents results from a state survey on parents’ access to their own children’s data. According to the publishers, while most states create student progress reports, only 17 states provide parents with access to data that would allow them track their children’s individual progress over time. The publishers also report the number of states […]