Assessments

This brief argues that California and many other states have the foundations in place to build better accountability systems, and proposes a three-pronged approach to put California back on the path of national leadership.

This report examines the reasons why California’s current accountability system is not producing students who are graduating from high school ready for college and careers, and proposes a better alternative.

This  issue brief examines the effect high standards on student achievement, and concludes that not only is there is no evidence that high standards have hurt low-achieving student, but there is also evidence that higher standards have helped those same students.

This series of essays explores the challenges of implementing so many education reforms—such as new Common Core standards, new assessments, new accountability systems, new teacher evaluations, new data systems, and for some states, Race to the Top—all at once, provides a framework for policymakers to think about the choices ahead, as well as strategies and solutions to unexpected conflicts.

This report describes the history of the credit hour and redefining the credit hour in a way that accounts for measuring student learning. The report also describes emerging efforts to measure student learning, such as the Degree Qualifications Profile, Tuning USA, and competency-based programs. Finally, the report provides federal policy recommendations for awarding credit hours based on student learning through three tools: the credit hour, experimental sites, and direct assessment.

This report defines 21st century skills and describes the need for integrating these skills into teaching and assessment in order to improve student learning. This report also provides information about assessments for measuring these skills. 

This report presents an overview of the higher education landscape and proposes policy reforms that would lead to innovation in the U.S. higher education system. These recommended reforms are built on four principles: focusing on outcome measures; being open to new providers of higher education; unbundling the components of higher education; and allowing for portability. The report also presents emerging innovative approaches to higher education, such as competency-based models, focused institutions, and assessments of prior learning.

This report provides an overview of the state of postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) in the United States, including strengths and challenges of the CTE system. It also includes examples of various aspects of CTE systems in other countries and state case studies and recommendations for improving student outcomes of the postsecondary CTE system with a focus on three issues: quality and funding, credentials, and transitions.