Resources

The Center for Standards, Assessment, and Accountability (CSAA) curates a variety of WestEd resources, ranging from guidance documents, research papers, and policy briefs to tools and websites for public use. These resources are aimed at supporting state and local education agency leadership in making decisions about their standards, assessment programs, and accountability systems.

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Case Reviews: Implementing the Spirit of Formative AssessmentFeatured

The following resource provides vignettes about teachers who are attempting to implement formative assessment in their schools. The two vignettes are from a study by Earl and Timperley (2014) that showcase examples from a secondary school ...

2019 Product or Tool Elementary School (K-5) High School (9-12) Middle School (6-8) Curriculum and Instruction

Kindergarten Entry Assessments: An Examination of Best Practices, National Trends, and Recommendations

States and districts use Kindergarten entry assessments (KEA) as evaluative tools for understanding students’ learning along developmental domains. Data from KEAs are informative for guiding instruction and responses based on students’ ...

2024 Guidance Early Learning Elementary School (K-5) Assessment

Key Elements of a Coherent and Equitable Local Assessment System

State assessments play an important role in monitoring how well schools and districts serve the needs of all learners. However, they are designed to provide comparable information across a state’s schools and districts, not instructional ...

2024 Guidance Elementary School (K-5) High School (9-12) Middle School (6-8) Assessment Curriculum and Instruction

Components of a Coherent and Equitable Assessment System

Assessment data have different purposes and uses depending on the interest holders who use the information they generate and whether they are geared toward the classroom, school or district, or at the state level. This handout identifies the key ...

2024 Knowledge Elementary School (K-5) High School (9-12) Middle School (6-8) Assessment Curriculum and Instruction

A First Look at Early Literacy Performance in Massachusetts

Massachusetts commissioned WestEd to conduct a study of the state’s K-3 student reading skills. WestEd’s report, authored by Mariann Lemke, Dan Murphy, Aaron Soo Ping Chow, Hayley Spencer, and Angela Zhang, provides insights into ...

2023 Knowledge Elementary School (K-5) English Language Arts

English Learner (EL) Pre-Referral Flow Chart Questions

This decision-making flow chart includes target questions that Child Study teams or MTSS teams should address when working through the pre-referral decision-making process. Each school or district may modify these questions to reflect their own ...

2023 Product or Tool Early Learning Elementary School (K-5) High School (9-12) Middle School (6-8) English Language Arts Math Other Science Social Studies Curriculum and Instruction Diverse Learners

Educational Alignment: Past, Present, and Potential Future (Part 1)

To ensure that accurate inferences of student learning are made, the alignment of learning standards, instruction, and assessments is critical. Educational systems benefit from alignment studies that examine these relationships. However, recent ...

2023

Demystifying Statewide Standardized Assessments: Developing High-Quality Assessments and Items

Test developers have a thorough process for designing tests and items (commonly referred to as the test’s questions). The process includes rigorous educator reviews through the development process to help improve the tests’ and items’ quality. ...

2023 Knowledge Elementary School (K-5) High School (9-12) Middle School (6-8) Assessment

Demystifying Statewide Standardized Assessments: Making Assessments Accessible for Students With Disabilities and English Learners

Students with disabilities and English learners may receive changes to the test administration so they can show what they know and can do. Tests also offer universal supports that are available to all students. Key Takeaways States and districts are ...

2023 Knowledge Elementary School (K-5) High School (9-12) Middle School (6-8) Assessment

Demystifying Statewide Standardized Assessments: What Statewide Assessments Are Designed to Measure

State standardized assessments measure students’ skills and knowledge relative to what students should have been taught during the school year. The scores are used to identify schools in need of assistance and can help provide information for ...

2023 Knowledge Elementary School (K-5) High School (9-12) Middle School (6-8) Assessment

Resource Type

Grade Level

Subject Area

Keywords

Case Reviews: Implementing the Spirit of Formative AssessmentFeatured

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