Primer on Large-Scale Assessments of Educational Achievement

Primer on Large-Scale Assessments of Educational Achievement

Author: Marguerite Clarke

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2021-06-08

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1464816603

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

To improve their education systems, countries around the world have increasingly initiated national largescale assessment programs or participated in international or regional large-scale assessment studies for the first time. Well-constructed large-scale assessments can provide credible information on student achievement levels, which, in turn, can promote better resource allocation to schools, stronger education service delivery, and improved learning outcomes. The World Bank developed this Primer on Large-Scale Assessments of Educational Achievement as a firststop resource for those wanting to understand how to design, administer, analyze, and use the results from these assessments of student achievement. The book addresses frequently asked questions from people working on large-scale assessment projects and those interested in making informed decisions about them. Each chapter introduces a stage in the assessment process and offers advice, guidelines, and country examples. This book also reports on emerging trends in large-scale assessment and provides updated information on regional and international large-scale assessment programs. DIRK HASTEDT, Executive Director of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) “A special feature of the publication is that it not only gives an overview of technical specifications, but also includes examples from around the world on how countries are conducting large-scale assessments, what they found, and how the results were used. With this perspective, the Primer on Large-Scale Assessments of Educational Achievement is an excellent and easy-to-read publication to get a comprehensive overview of large-scale assessments and how and why they are conducted.†? SILVIA MONTOYA, Director of UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UNESCO UIS) “If you are responsible for learning assessment in a country and are searching for a comprehensive, yet readable, guide on large-scale assessment, this is your book. Extremely well structured and written, this primer is easy to follow, and makes points clearly and concisely. It is an excellent resource that explores the steps for a good large-scale assessment with examples from all international large-scale assessment programs.†? ANDREAS SCHLEICHER, Director for the Directorate of Education and Skills and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Secretary- General “Many countries have joined international educational assessments to benchmark quality, equity, and efficiency in their education systems. But what does it take to design and implement those efforts well and to draw value from this to help students learn better, teachers teach better, and schools to work more effectively? This Primer on Large-Scale Assessments of Educational Achievement helps policy makers and their technical teams to find answers to these questions.†? ANDREI VOLKOV, Director of the Institute for Public Strategy, Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO “In 2008, when the Russia Education Aid for Development (READ) Program was launched, we determined its main goal as the improvement of the quality of basic education. Today, the READ Program keeps setting trends as the largest Russian initiative promoting educational assessment. Approaches developed within the READ Program, from building institutional and expert capacity to influencing educational reforms, have proven their efficacy in many countries. The Primer on Large-Scale Assessments of Educational Achievement brings together in a practical format the best experience and case studies in conducting assessments under the READ Program. An especially important feature of the book is an integrated capacity building component, which makes it a practical tutorial ready for use in different cultural contexts. Through this book, we hope that our collective experience gathered during READ will be widely shared, bringing us closer to achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal on education.†? evelopment Goal on Education.†?


Assessing National Achievement Levels in Education

Assessing National Achievement Levels in Education

Author: Vincent Greaney

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 0821372599

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The National Assessments of Educational Achievement Series introduces readers to key concepts and issues related to assessments of student achievement levels. The first volume focuses on policy issues which should be addressed when designing and carrying out a national assessment. It features country case studies, and descriptions of major international and regional assessment programs. The remaining books in the series cover test development, sampling, data cleaning, statistics, report writing and using national assessment results to improve educational quality.


Knowing What Students Know

Knowing What Students Know

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2001-10-27

Total Pages: 383

ISBN-13: 0309293227

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Education is a hot topic. From the stage of presidential debates to tonight's dinner table, it is an issue that most Americans are deeply concerned about. While there are many strategies for improving the educational process, we need a way to find out what works and what doesn't work as well. Educational assessment seeks to determine just how well students are learning and is an integral part of our quest for improved education. The nation is pinning greater expectations on educational assessment than ever before. We look to these assessment tools when documenting whether students and institutions are truly meeting education goals. But we must stop and ask a crucial question: What kind of assessment is most effective? At a time when traditional testing is subject to increasing criticism, research suggests that new, exciting approaches to assessment may be on the horizon. Advances in the sciences of how people learn and how to measure such learning offer the hope of developing new kinds of assessments-assessments that help students succeed in school by making as clear as possible the nature of their accomplishments and the progress of their learning. Knowing What Students Know essentially explains how expanding knowledge in the scientific fields of human learning and educational measurement can form the foundations of an improved approach to assessment. These advances suggest ways that the targets of assessment-what students know and how well they know it-as well as the methods used to make inferences about student learning can be made more valid and instructionally useful. Principles for designing and using these new kinds of assessments are presented, and examples are used to illustrate the principles. Implications for policy, practice, and research are also explored. With the promise of a productive research-based approach to assessment of student learning, Knowing What Students Know will be important to education administrators, assessment designers, teachers and teacher educators, and education advocates.


Assessment of Student Achievement

Assessment of Student Achievement

Author: Gavin T. L. Brown

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-20

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 1351667122

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Assessment is a concept familiar across the field of education and is inherent to the work of professors, administrators, teachers, researchers, journalists, and scholars. A multifaceted and politically charged topic, assessment ranges from informal interactions with learners in classrooms to systematic high-stakes testing and examination. Written by a leading expert on assessment, this book situates the topic within the broader context of educational psychology research and theory and brings it to a wider audience. With chapters on the fundamentals of assessment, explanations of its uses, and advice for best application, this concise volume is designed for any education course that includes assessment in the curriculum. It will be indispensable for student researchers and both pre- and in-service teachers alike.


Performance Assessments for Adult Education

Performance Assessments for Adult Education

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2002-08-01

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 0309084539

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the United States, the nomenclature of adult education includes adult literacy, adult secondary education, and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) services provided to undereducated and limited English proficient adults. Those receiving adult education services have diverse reasons for seeking additional education. With the passage of the WIA, the assessment of adult education students became mandatory-regardless of their reasons for seeking services. The law does allow the states and local programs flexibility in selecting the most appropriate assessment for the student. The purpose of the NRC's workshop was to explore issues related to efforts to measure learning gains in adult basic education programs, with a focus on performance-based assessments.


Testing, Teaching, and Learning

Testing, Teaching, and Learning

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1999-10-06

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 0309172861

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

State education departments and school districts face an important challenge in implementing a new law that requires disadvantaged students to be held to the same standards as other students. The new requirements come from provisions of the 1994 reauthorization of Title I, the largest federal effort in precollegiate education, which provides aid to "level the field" for disadvantaged students. Testing, Teaching, and Learning is written to help states and school districts comply with the new law, offering guidance for designing and implementing assessment and accountability systems. This book examines standards-based education reform and reviews the research on student assessment, focusing on the needs of disadvantaged students covered by Title I. With examples of states and districts that have track records in new systems, the committee develops a practical "decision framework" for education officials. The book explores how best to design assessment and accountability systems that support high levels of student learning and to work toward continuous improvement. Testing, Teaching, and Learning will be an important tool for all involved in educating disadvantaged studentsâ€"state and local administrators and classroom teachers.


Educating One and All

Educating One and All

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1997-06-27

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0309057892

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the movement toward standards-based education, an important question stands out: How will this reform affect the 10% of school-aged children who have disabilities and thus qualify for special education? In Educating One and All, an expert committee addresses how to reconcile common learning for all students with individualized education for "one"â€"the unique student. The book makes recommendations to states and communities that have adopted standards-based reform and that seek policies and practices to make reform consistent with the requirements of special education. The committee explores the ideas, implementation issues, and legislative initiatives behind the tradition of special education for people with disabilities. It investigates the policy and practice implications of the current reform movement toward high educational standards for all students. Educating One and All examines the curricula and expected outcomes of standards-based education and the educational experience of students with disabilitiesâ€"and identifies points of alignment between the two areas. The volume documents the diverse population of students with disabilities and their school experiences. Because approaches to assessment and accountability are key to standards-based reforms, the committee analyzes how assessment systems currently address students with disabilities, including testing accommodations. The book addresses legal and resource implications, as well as parental participation in children's education.


Educational Policy Evaluation Through International Comparative Assessments

Educational Policy Evaluation Through International Comparative Assessments

Author: Rolf Strietholt

Publisher:

Published: 2016-01-20

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 9783830930914

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

One of the most salient findings from the field of education is that there are huge national differences in student achievement as shown in international comparative studies like PISA and TIMSS. The shockingly large gap between the highest performing countries (mostly in East Asia) and many European countries corresponds to a difference in attainment of two years of schooling. Although this finding has been replicated in several studies, the reasons for and consequences of such differences are currently not well understood. This book is a collection of essays and studies by leading experts in international comparative education who demonstrate how international comparative assessments can be used to evaluate educational policies. The volume is organized into two parts that address, first, theoretical foundations and methodological developments in the field of international assessments, and, second, innovative substantive studies that utilize international data for policy evaluation studies. The intention of this book is to revisit the idea of 'using the world as an educational laboratory', both to inform policy and to facilitate theory development.