Special Report
Special Report

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’ve learned. This special report provides a snapshot of these developments and others in the changing field of assessment.
  • On exhibition night, Hidden Valley High seniors Matthew Whitely, left, and Bubba Smith set up the Rube Goldberg machine they helped build. It successfully hung a banner at the event.
    On exhibition night, Hidden Valley High seniors Matthew Whitely, left, and Bubba Smith set up the Rube Goldberg machine they helped build. It successfully hung a banner at the event.
    Stephanie Klein-Davis for Education Week
    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.
    Madeline Will, May 24, 2017
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    7 min read
    Assessment Assessment: Getting a Read on a Field in Flux
    A range of forces—including common standards, a new federal education law, and digital innovation—are bringing change to the field of student testing.
    Debra Viadero, May 24, 2017
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    4 min read
    Third graders participate in a 15-minute mindfulness session in their classroom at Andrews Elementary.
    Third graders participate in a 15-minute mindfulness session in their classroom at Andrews Elementary.
    Tamir Kalifa for Education Week
    Assessment Teaching Students to De-Stress Over Testing
    School districts and researchers are searching for ways to help students cope with test anxiety and other schooling stresses.
    Sarah D. Sparks, May 24, 2017
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    6 min read
    College & Workforce Readiness Country's Oldest Career-Matching Test Gets an Update
    A survey added to the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery aims to match test-takers to jobs based on interest, rather than personality.
    Sarah D. Sparks, May 24, 2017
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    2 min read
    Students in the District of Columbia’s International Academy at Cardozo Education Campus, immigrants from Central America and Asia, work on an assignment in history class.
    Students in the District of Columbia’s International Academy at Cardozo Education Campus, immigrants from Central America and Asia, work on an assignment in history class.
    Greg Kahn for Education Week-File
    Federal More Testing Is Forecast for Nation's ELL Students
    Spurred by changes in federal law, states are ramping up and revising English-proficiency testing for students who don't yet communicate fluently in English.
    Corey Mitchell, May 24, 2017
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    6 min read
    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.
    Sarah D. Sparks, May 24, 2017
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    7 min read
    Assessment Market Is Booming for Digital Formative Assessments
    Sales are growing for products that help teachers figure out whether students are "getting it" in class—and how educators should change instruction accordingly.
    Michele Molnar, May 24, 2017
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    5 min read
    College & Workforce Readiness In Race for Test-Takers, ACT Outscores SAT—for Now
    The SAT’s long dominance in college admission testing has slipped, but it’s still a horse race, according to experts.
    May 24, 2017
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    6 min read
    Fifth grader Nyna Manabe, left, her teacher Joanne Michael, center, and classmates Clara Soricut, Grant Gilmer, and Carley Kubler, left to right, watch to see how the water filter they created works during science class at Meadows Elementary School in Manhattan Beach, Calif. California students are learning the Next Generation Science Standards, but likely won’t take tests aligned to them for at least another year.
    Fifth grader Nyna Manabe, left, her teacher Joanne Michael, center, and classmates Clara Soricut, Grant Gilmer, and Carley Kubler, left to right, watch to see how the water filter they created works during science class at Meadows Elementary School in Manhattan Beach, Calif. California students are learning the Next Generation Science Standards, but likely won’t take tests aligned to them for at least another year.
    Andrew Cullen for Education Week
    Standards & Accountability Next-Generation Science Tests Slowly Take Shape
    A 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.
    Liana Loewus, May 24, 2017
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    8 min read