Student Testing
What's Next
May 24, 2017
Change is bubbling in the assessment world. Common standards are reshaping standardized tests. New federal laws are causing states to ramp up tests for English-language learners. Formative assessments are going digital, and students are being encouraged to create their own assessments to show what they鈥檝e learned. This special report provides a snapshot of these developments and others in the changing field of assessment.
- Assessment What Happens When Students Design Their Own Assessments?An experimental network of Virginia schools is letting students devise projects to demonstrate what they've learned.Assessment Assessment: Getting a Read on a Field in FluxA range of forces鈥攊ncluding common standards, a new federal education law, and digital innovation鈥攁re bringing change to the field of student testing.Assessment Teaching Students to De-Stress Over TestingSchool districts and researchers are searching for ways to help students cope with test anxiety and other schooling stresses.College & Workforce Readiness Country's Oldest Career-Matching Test Gets an UpdateA survey added to the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery aims to match test-takers to jobs based on interest, rather than personality.Federal More Testing Is Forecast for Nation's ELL StudentsSpurred by changes in federal law, states are ramping up and revising English-proficiency testing for students who don't yet communicate fluently in English.College & Workforce Readiness Should Schools Test the 'Career' Half of 'College and Career'?Some experts and educators argue that better assessments are needed to determine whether students have the necessary skills to succeed in the workplace.Assessment Market Is Booming for Digital Formative AssessmentsSales are growing for products that help teachers figure out whether students are "getting it" in class鈥攁nd how educators should change instruction accordingly.College & Workforce Readiness In Race for Test-Takers, ACT Outscores SAT鈥攆or NowThe SAT鈥檚 long dominance in college admission testing has slipped, but it鈥檚 still a horse race, according to experts.Standards & Accountability Next-Generation Science Tests Slowly Take ShapeA handful of the 18 states that have adopted the Next-Generation Science Standards are using assessments meant to reflect the standards' deeper, more inquiry-based approach to science.