Center for Standards, Assessment, and Accountability

Keyword: Standards

Voices from the Field: Making State Assessment Decisions for English Language Learners with Disabilities

This report describes current assessment and accommodation decision-making processes, test score use practices, and issues and challenges educators face in making appropriate decisions for ELLs with disabilities. Findings are based on online focus groups of 232 school and district practitioners in five states. Four major themes emerged; participants 1) questioned the validity of standardized tests, […]

‘Both and’ Literacy Instruction K-5: A Proposed Paradigm Shift for the Common Core State Standards ELA Classroom

This article proposes a language arts curriculum congruent to the new, English/language arts (ELA) college and career ready standards, particularly to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The idea of behind “‘both and’ literacy instruction” is that all of the following elements are needed for students to form a coherent literacy experience: Foundational literacy practices: […]

From Common Core Standards to Curriculum: Five Big Ideas

In this article, curriculum design experts and educators Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins present five big ideas about the Common Core State Standards and their translation into a curriculum. The authors highlight potential misconceptions in working with the Standards and offer recommendations for designing a coherent curriculum and assessment system for the Standards.

Mathematics Grade Level Considerations for High School

In contrast to the kindergarten through grade 8 Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, high school level standards are not grade-specific. Instead, the standards specify learning expectations upon graduation from high school. This presentation provides an introduction to grade-specific considerations for item and task development for the Smarter Balanced assessments. These include guidelines for the following: appropriate grade-level and […]

Putting Data Into Practice: Lessons From New York City

While New York’s size and the scope of its initiative make it unique, the district provides a rich and timely illustration of how data is being used in an urban school system and how it can be employed in smaller districts, as well. Seen from the perspective of both its obstacles and successes, New York’s […]