Center for Standards, Assessment, and Accountability

Grade Level: Middle School (6-8)

From Accountability to Actionability: Making Sense of Multiple Measures in Local Control Accountability Plans

In this brief, the authors review “promising practices from California districts and insights from research on multiple measures to provide recommendations that improve how districts generate, present, and use data in their [Local Control Accountability Plans] LCAPs.” The authors “recommend that districts use multiple measures to develop greater coherence between inputs, processes, and outcomes linked […]

What Exactly Do “Fewer, Clearer, and Higher Standards” Really Look Like in the Classroom? Using a Cognitive Rigor Matrix to Analyze Curriculum, Plan Lessons, and Implement Assessments

From the abstract: “With the ever-increasing call for more rigorous curriculum, instruction, and assessment in the United States, the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers are aiming to define the rigorous skills and knowledge that students need in order to succeed academically in college-entry courses and in workforce training programs […]

Improving Teaching and Learning with Data-Based Decisions: Asking the Right Questions and Acting on the Answers

This resource provides information on data-based decision making to help schools increase student achievement, focusing on the use of data to inform instructional and curricular change. Included is an overview on how educators can use assessments with different purposes to gather various types of data. The paper also outlines the attributes of effective data use and various methods for […]

Opt Out: An Examination of Issues

During the past few years, media reports have highlighted an increase in the number of parents who are opting their children out of annual state tests, often called the opt-out movement. In this paper, researcher Randy Bennett examines issues related to the movement including: the amount of time that students spend taking tests, the number and types […]

Teaching Content to English Learners in the Era of the Common Core Standards

What are instructional implications for College and Career Ready Standards, such as the Common Core, on English learners (ELs) and their teachers? This question is addressed in an essay by researchers from ETS. R&D Connections, a publication series from ETS Research & Development, examines research conducted by ETS scientists and is written in nontechnical language. […]

Assessment System Design Options for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Reflections on Some Possible Design Approaches

The need for a comprehensive and cohesive system of assessments, to effectively support implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), has been recommended and emphasized. This paper provides a thoughtful analysis of high-level designs for a system of assessments to effectively support the NGSS. Policymakers will find this paper informative, as it includes a […]