This report uses international benchmarking as a common metric to examine and compare what students are expected to learn in some states with what students are expected to learn in other states. The performance standards in each state were compared with the international benchmarks used in two international assessments, and it was assumed that…

Since its inception more than four decades ago, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has served as a key indicator of what the nation's students know and can do in academic subjects. NAEP assessments provide a mechanism for putting the achievements of students in all states on a common scale; the assessments also serve as…

Introduction: For decades, prior to the inception of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was the only vehicle through which states could assess the progress of their students using a common metric. Now, 45 states, 4 U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia have adopted the CCSS to…

Since its first assessment in 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has made a unique contribution to our understanding of American education. It is the only national source of information on the educational achievement of U.S. students, and it is the only vehicle by which states can compare the progress of their students…

"Learning progressions" are one of the most important assessment design ideas to be introduced in the past decade. In the United States, several committees of the National Research Council (NRC) have argued for the use of learning progressions as a means to foster both deeper mastery of subject-matter content and higher level reasoning…

Development of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and the creation of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), changes the pattern of accountability testing. These changes raise the question: "How should NAEP's validity and utility…

California currently faces an opportunity to develop an effective data system that can assist in improving the state's future understanding of the educational progress of English learners (ELs). This policy brief outlines the needs for good data on ELs and makes recommendations for creating an effective longitudinal data system for ELs. It…

Passed in 1999, the Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) established a results-based accountability system in California with specific performance targets for schools. The PSAA created a system of rewards and sanctions for meeting or not meeting those targets, and established assistance programs for low-performing schools. In 2001, the High…

This report presents the results of the professional judgment component of a seven month project undertaken by American Institutes for Research (AIR) to answer the following question: What is the cost of providing all California public school students with access to the California content standards, thereby achieving appropriate levels of…

In June of 1998, Proposition 227 was passed by 61 percent of the California electorate. The initiative was intended to significantly alter the ways in which the state's English learners (ELs) are taught. Proposition 227 requires that ELs be taught "overwhelmingly in English" through sheltered/structured English immersion (SEI) programs during "a…

In June of 1998, Proposition 227 was passed by 61 percent of the California electorate. Intended to change how the state's English learners (ELs) are instructed, Proposition 227 required that ELs be taught "overwhelmingly in English" through sheltered/structured English immersion (SEI) programs during a transition period and then transferred to…

What is the cost of providing all New York public school students a full opportunity to meet the Regents Learning Standards? This report presents the results of a fifteen-month project undertaken jointly by American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Management Analysis and Planning, Inc. (MAP) to answer this question. This is a "costing out"…