Assessments

This article from the National Association of Secondary School Principal’s Principal Leadership journal describes response to intervention’s (RTI) tiered process for implementing evidence-based instructional strategies in the regular education setting while frequently measuring student progress to determine whether these practices are effective. It specifies some common components of strong collaborative teams and elements of effective RTI programs.

This synthesis reviews the research on adolescent literacy from the past 20 years. Implications for classroom practice are discussed and organized as follows: Instructional Implications, Curricular/Program Implications, Structural/Systemic Implications, Professional Development Implications, and Assessment Implications. Implications for classroom practice based on this review are discussed.

Students who took Advanced Placement (AP) courses and passed the exams tended to have a higher probability of college graduation compared to students not participating in AP even after controlling for student’s 8th grade mathematics test score, free and reduced price lunch status, average test scores, and percent economically disadvantaged students in the student’s school. The percent of a school’s students who took and passed AP is the best AP-related predictor of the probability of students from that school to graduate from college.

In this report, the author looks at the eight federal legislative recommendations provided by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) for high school reform identified in their field guide, Breaking Ranks II. The recommendations include: (1) increasing academic rigor, (2) personalized instruction, (3) targeted strategies to support low-performing students, (4) improving reading and writing skills, (5) assessment, (6) high-quality school leaders, (7) highly qualified teachers, and (8) high schools identified as in need of improvement.

This report from Achieve, Inc., looks at high school exit exams and makes the argument that they are, in fact, not challenging enough. The author reviews several state exams, results, and structures and provides recommendations for states and policy makers on how to improve graduation tests and implementation of their assessment systems for graduation.

This tool kit offers information about the U.S. Department of Education’s investments supporting teaching and assessing students with disabilities; papers on seven models for large-scale assessment; technical assistance products related to assessment, instructional practices, behavior, and accommodations; and additional resources.

This ACT, Inc., policy report discusses and investigates the inconsistencies between a typical high school curriculum and what a student needs to know in order to be prepared for the workforce or postsecondary education. The report also stresses that the lack of academic rigor found in many high schools plays a part in the ensuing disconnect.

This examination of the high school graduation rates by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) highlights the necessity and need for a comprehensive, universal formula to be used across states, a vision shared by many stakeholders in high school reform.

This National High School Center report focuses on successful high schools, highlighting the ways in which many superintendents, principals, and teachers are setting and meeting high expectations for all students. Developed specifically for state leaders, it provides them with suggestions on how they may support initiatives that are linked with accelerated learning.