NEPC Resources on High-Stakes Testing and Evaluation

(September 26, 2024). Testing and Accountability: The Federal Role. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/newsletter-shepard-092624

Jamaal Bowman (October 13, 2023). Jamaal Bowman Discusses the "More Teaching Less Testing Act of 2023". Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/fyi-video-bowman

(October 5, 2023). Testing is Broken. Can This Bill Fix It?. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/newsletter-dc-briefing-100523

Joseph J. Ferrare (September 7, 2023). NEPC Review: As a Matter of Fact: National Charter School Study III 2023 (Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), June 2023). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./review/charter-study

(August 17, 2023). Whole Child Education: How Four Nations Compare. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/newsletter-international-081723

Jeanne M. Powers (April 13, 2023). Consumer-Oriented School Rating Systems and Their Implications for Educational Equity. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/school-ratings

Christopher Saldaña, Derek C. Briggs, Scott Marion (January 20, 2022). NEPC Talks Education: An Interview With Derek Briggs and Scott Marion About State and National Test Results. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/podcast-saldana-briggs-marion

(October 28, 2021). Spring 2021 Exam Results Are In. Now What?. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/newsletter-covid-assessment-102821

(October 21, 2021). Five Myths About Education. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/newsletter-myths-102121

(May 4, 2021). Five Myths About Teaching. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/newsletter-teacher-appreciation-050421

Christopher Saldaña, Lorrie Shepard (April 15, 2021). NEPC Talks Education: An Interview with Lorrie Shepard About Standardized Testing Policy . Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/podcast-saldana-shepard

Gail L. Sunderman (February 9, 2021). NEPC Review: School Accountability--Past, Present, and Future (Hoover Institution, November 2020). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/accountability

Gene V Glass, William J. Mathis, David C. Berliner (October 29, 2020). NEPC Review: Student Assessment During COVID-19 (Center for American Progress, September 2020). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/pandemic-assessment

(April 21, 2020). Coronavirus Testing Cancellations Threatened to Worsen Inequities. So These Students Spoke Out. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/newsletter-testoptionalnow-042120

(March 5, 2020). Four Big Takeaways About Testing. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/newsletter-assessment-030520

Jaekyung Lee (November 26, 2019). NEPC Review: Fewer Children Left Behind: Lessons From the Dramatic Achievement Gains of the 1990s and 2000s (Thomas B. Fordham Institute, October 2019). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/achievement

(November 12, 2019). College Admissions Fraud and 504 Plans: A Q&A with NEPC Fellow Edward Garcia Fierros. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/newsletter-admissions-111119

(May 2, 2019). A Weak Defense of a Useless Report. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/newsletter-yun-response-050219

John T. Yun (April 18, 2019). NEPC Review: The Michigan Context and Performance Report Card: High Schools 2018 (Mackinac Center, January 2019). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/rankings

Madhabi Chatterji (March 5, 2019). A Consumer’s Guide to Testing under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): What Can the Common Core and Other ESSA Assessments Tell Us?. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/rd-assessment-guide

Bruce D. Baker (November 27, 2018). NEPC Review: Everything You Know About State Education Rankings Is Wrong (Reason Foundation, November 2018). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-rankings

(July 19, 2018). High Stakes, Low Validity?. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/newsletter-SHSAT-071918

Kevin Close, Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, Clarin Collins (June 5, 2018). State-Level Assessments and Teacher Evaluation Systems after the Passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act: Some Steps in the Right Direction. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/state-assessment

Gregory A. Smith, Alyssa Hadley Dunn (October 17, 2017). Education Interview of the Month: Greg Smith Interviews Alyssa Hadley Dunn on Viral Teacher Resignation Letters. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/smith-hadley-dunn

Gail L. Sunderman, Erin Coghlan, Rick Mintrop (May 18, 2017). School Closure as a Strategy to Remedy Low Performance. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/closures

Beth C. Rubin (January 26, 2017). NEPC Review: High Stakes for High Achievers:
State Accountability in the Age of ESSA (Thomas B. Fordham Institute, August 2016). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-tracking-high-stakes

William J. Mathis, Tina Trujillo (November 17, 2016). Lessons from NCLB for the Every Student Succeeds Act. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/lessons-from-NCLB

William J. Mathis (August 23, 2016). Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking - 2016 Collection. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/research-based-options

Tina Trujillo, Marialena Rivera (July 20, 2016). Review of Measuring School Turnaround Success. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-turnaround

Julia Daniel, Kevin G. Welner, Michelle Renée Valladares (June 14, 2016). Research-Based Expectations for Implementation of the Community Schools Initiative in New York City. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/community-schools

Jaime Del Razo (March 10, 2016). NEPC Review: SchoolGrades.org (Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, September 2015). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-of-schoolgrades-org

Sharon L. Nichols (February 25, 2016). NEPC Review: Lessons From State Performance on NAEP: Why Some High-Poverty Students Score Better Than Others (Center for American Progress , January 2016). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-CAP-standards

Joseph Cimpian (December 3, 2015). Review of The Effects of Test-Based Retention on Student Outcomes Over Time. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-NBER-retention

William J. Mathis (November 3, 2015). Divining the Meaning of the Test Scores. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/divining-meaning

(October 28, 2015). NAEPscuses: Making Sense of Excuse-Making from the No-Excuses Contingent. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/naepscuses

Kevin G. Welner (October 28, 2015). NAEPscuses: Making Sense of Excuse-Making from the No-Excuses Contingent. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/naepscuses

Tina Trujillo (May 11, 2015). NEPC Review: Dramatic Action, Dramatic Improvement: The Research on School Turnaround (Center for American Progress, March 2015). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-school-turnaround

(May 4, 2015). High-Stakes, Test-Driven Accountability Debated in New York Times. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/high-stakes-test-driven-accountability-debated-new-york-times

Andrew Maul (April 27, 2015). NEPC Review: Urban Charter School Study Report on 41 Regions 2015 (Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), March 2015). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./%20thinktank/review-urban-charter-school

Kevin G. Welner, William J. Mathis (February 12, 2015). Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Time to Move Beyond Test-Focused Policies. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/esea

Gene V Glass (August 19, 2014). NEPC Review: The Productivity of Public Charter Schools (University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform, July 2014). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-productivity-public-charter

William J. Mathis (May 29, 2014). Review of Two Alternative Teacher Preparation Proposals. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-fast-start-time-to-improve

Tina Trujillo, Marialena Rivera (April 15, 2014). Review of The Effect of Co-locations on Student Achievement in NYC Public Schools. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-effect-of-co-locations

Katherine E. Ryan, Tysza Gandha, Jeehae Ahn (November 12, 2013). School Self-Evaluation and Inspection for Improving U.S. Schools?. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/school-self-evaluation

Andy Hargreaves, Henry Braun, Kathleen Gebhardt (October 22, 2013). Data-Driven Improvement and Accountability. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/data-driven-improvement-accountability

Bruce Fuller (August 27, 2013). Review of The Lessons of No Child Left Behind. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-lessons-of-nclb

Andrew Maul, Abby McClelland (July 16, 2013). NEPC Review: National Charter School Study 2013 (Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), August 2013). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-credo-2013

Kevin G. Welner (May 25, 2013). Consequential Validity and the Transformation of Tests from Measurement Tools to Policy Tools. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/TCR-Consequential-Validity

(April 25, 2013). Leading Educators Call for a New Direction for Education Reform, Focused on the Opportunity Gap. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/leading-educators

Rich Milner (February 28, 2013). Policy Reforms and De-professionalization of Teaching. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/policy-reforms-deprofessionalization

Jesse Rothstein, William J. Mathis (January 31, 2013). NEPC Review: Have We Identified Effective Teachers? (Gates Foundation, January 2013). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-MET-final-2013

Kenneth R. Howe, David E. Meens (October 16, 2012). How Recent Education Reforms Undermine Local School Governance and Democratic Education. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/democracy-left-behind

Catherine S. Durso (June 20, 2012). An Analysis of the Use and Validity of Test-Based Teacher Evaluations Reported by the Los Angeles Times: 2011. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/analysis-la-times-2011

Jaekyung Lee (October 13, 2011). NEPC Review: Do High Flyers Maintain Their Altitude? (Thomas B. Fordham Institute, September 2011). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-high-flyers

Kevin G. Welner, Carol C. Burris (July 30, 2011). Letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Concerning Evaluation of Teachers and Principals. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/letter-to-Arne-Duncan

Bruce D. Baker (May 18, 2011). NEPC Review: Passing Muster: Evaluating Teacher Evaluation Systems (April 2011). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/passing-muster-fails-muster

Derek C. Briggs, Ben Domingue (February 8, 2011). Due Diligence and the Evaluation of Teachers. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/due-diligence

Bruce D. Baker (January 26, 2011). NEPC Review: Stretching the School Dollar: A Brief for State Policymakers (Thomas B. Fordham Institute, January 2011). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/part-2-%E2%80%93-stretching-truth

Jesse Rothstein (January 13, 2011). NEPC Review: Learning About Teaching (December 2010). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-learning-about-teaching

Edward García Fierros, Bridget Rooney (December 14, 2010). NEPC Review: 2010 State School Report Card (October 2010). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./thinktank/review-2010-state-school-report

Joshua Feinman (October 22, 2008). High Stakes, but Low Validity? A Case Study of Standardized Tests and Admissions into New York City Specialized High Schools. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/high-stakes-but-low-validity

Kevin G. Welner (June 1, 2008). The Overselling of Growth Modeling. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/overselling-growth-modeling

Michele S. Moses, M. J. Nanna (January 1, 2007). The Testing Culture and the Persistence of High Stakes Testing Reforms. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/the-testing-culture-and-persistence-high-stakes-testing-reforms

Edward W. Wiley (January 1, 2006). A Practitioner’s Guide to Value-Added Assessment (Educational Policy Studies Laboratory Research Monograph). Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/a-practitioners-guide-value-added-assessment-educational-policy-studies-laboratory-resea

Daniel Laitsch (January 1, 2006). Assessment, High Stakes, and Alternative Visions: Appropriate Use of the Right Tools to Leverage Improvement. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/assessment-high-stakes-and-alternative-visions-appropriate-use-right-tools-leverage-impr

David C. Berliner, Sharon L. Nichols (January 1, 2005). Test Results Untrustworthy. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/test-results-untrustworthy

Daniel Choi, Wayne Wright (January 1, 2005). Voices from the Classroom: A Statewide Survey of Experienced Third-Grade English Language Learner Teachers on the Impact of Lang. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/voices-classroom-a-statewide-survey-experienced-third-grade-english-language-learner-tea

Sharon L. Nichols, Gene V Glass, David C. Berliner (January 1, 2005). High-Stakes Testing and Student Achievement: Problems for the No Child Left Behind Act. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/high-stakes-testing-and-student-achievement-problems-no-child-left-behind-act

Edward W. Wiley, William J. Mathis, David R. Garcia (January 1, 2005). The Impact of the Adequate Yearly Progress Requirement of the Federal "No Child Left Behind" Act on Schools in the Great Lakes. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/the-impact-adequate-yearly-progress-requirement-federal-no-child-left-behind-act-schools

Sharon L. Nichols, David C. Berliner (January 1, 2005). The Inevitable Corruption of Indicators and Educators Through High-Stakes Testing. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/the-inevitable-corruption-indicators-and-educators-through-high-stakes-testing

Alex Molnar, Douglas N. Harris, Gene V Glass, Lisa Abrams, Madhabi Chatterji, Mary Lee Smith, Sherman Dorn, Tim Hacsi, Victoria-Maria MacDonald (January 1, 2004). Reform Florida. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/reform-florida

Janette K. Klingner, S. Ahwee, D. Van Garderen, C. Hernandez (January 1, 2004). Closing the Gap: Enhancing Student Outcomes in an Urban Professional Development School. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/closing-gap-enhancing-student-outcomes-urban-professional-development-school

(January 8, 2003). Reports Find Fault with High-Stakes Testing. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/reports-find-fault-with-high-stakes-testing

Gene V Glass (January 1, 2003). High-Stakes AIMS is a Brutal Test That Hurts the Students. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/high-stakes-aims-a-brutal-test-that-hurts-students

(September 1, 2002). High-Stakes Testing and U.S.-Mexican Youth in Texas: The Case for Multiple Compensatory Criteria in Assessment. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/high-stakes-testing-and-us-mexican-youth-texas-case-multiple-compensatory-criteria-asses

Susan Ohanian (March 22, 2002). What Happened to Recess and Why are Our Children Struggling in Kindergarten?. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/what-happened-recess-and-why-are-our-children-struggling-kindergarten

Harold Berlak (March 20, 2002). What You Need to Know About High Stakes Testing in California. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/what-you-need-know-about-high-stakes-testing-california

Kenneth R. Howe (January 1, 2002). Implications for the Use of the ACT Within the Colorado Student Assessment Program. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/implications-use-act-within-colorado-student-assessment-program

Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, David C. Berliner (January 1, 2002). The Impact of High-Stakes Tests on Student Academic Performance. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/the-impact-high-stakes-tests-student-academic-performance

Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, David C. Berliner (January 1, 2002). An Analysis of Some Unintended and Negative Consequences of High-Stakes Testing. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/an-analysis-some-unintended-and-negative-consequences-high-stakes-testing

Lorrie Shepard, D. Peressini (January 1, 2002). An Analysis of the Content and Difficulty of the CSAP 10th-Grade Mathematics Test. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/an-analysis-content-and-difficulty-csap-10th-grade-mathematics-test

(March 26, 2001). Pupils Lose Their Grip on Education if Schools Hold Too Tightly to Tests. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/pupils-lose-their-grip-education-if-schools-hold-too-tightly-tests

Catherine A. Lugg (January 1, 2001). Congress, Teachers, and the Perils of Merit Pay. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/congress-teachers-and-perils-merit-pay

Kevin G. Welner (January 1, 2001). Tracking in an Era of Standards: Low-Expectation Classes Meet High-Expectation Laws. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/tracking-era-standards-low-expectation-classes-meet-high-expectation-laws

Grace Taylor, Lorrie Shepard, Freya Kinner, Justin Rosenthal (January 1, 2001). A Survey of Teachers' Perspectives on High-Stakes Testing in Colorado: What Gets Taught, What Gets Lost. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/a-survey-teachers-perspectives-high-stakes-testing-colorado-what-gets-taught-what-gets-l

(December 6, 2000). Texas Tests Harbor a "Soft Bigotry" of Their Own. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/texas-tests-harbor-soft-bigotry-their-own

Gerald W. Bracey (January 1, 2000). High-Stakes Testing. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/high-stakes-testing

Harold Berlak (January 1, 2000). Testing Teachers to Raise Standards: Does It Work?. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/testing-teachers-raise-standards-does-it-work

S. B. Dunbar, D. Koretz, Robert L. Linn (January 1, 1991). The Effects of High-Stakes Testing on Achievement: Preliminary Findings About Generalization Across Tests. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/the-effects-high-stakes-testing-achievement-preliminary-findings-about-generalization-ac

K. Cutts-Dougherty (January 1, 1991). Effects of High-Stakes Testing on Instruction. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/effects-high-stakes-testing-instruction

Lorrie Shepard (January 1, 1988). Should Instruction Be Measurement Driven? A Debate. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/should-instruction-be-measurement-driven-a-debate

A. Kreitzer (January 1, 1987). The Texas Teacher Test. Available at: https://nepc.colorado.edu./publication/the-texas-teacher-test