The Education Week Spotlight on Assessment is a collection of articles hand-picked by our editors for their insights on best assessment practices; research on literacy and mathematics understanding; and overview about what the new administration may bring for educators.
You get the articles below in a downloadable PDF.
Teaching
Performance Assessment: 4 Best Practices
This isn't the first time states and schools have turned to projects, portfolios, exhibitions, and essays to measure students' learning. Here are lessons from the last go-around.
Assessment
It's Official: National Test Is Postponed Due to COVID-19 Concerns
The delay of the 2021 NAEP is a missed opportunity to measure students' pandemic-related learning losses, state by state.
Reading & Literacy
Students' Reading Losses Could Strain Schools' Capacity to Help Them Catch Up
Phonemic awareness, letter sounds, and other early reading skills took a big hit during the pandemic, a new study finds.
Mathematics
Kids Are Behind in Math Because of COVID-19. Here’s What Research Says Could Help
Previous studies can provide a window into why math learning is taking a big hit during the pandemic, and what educators can do about it.
Standards & Accountability
Could Biden Find a Middle Path on Student Testing During the Pandemic?
Waiving some portions of federal law could help the Biden administration craft a compromise on tests, but pressing questions would remain.
Education
Opinion
What to Do About Cheating on Assessments in Virtual Learning?
Lots of challenges have arisen in remote teaching and learning during COVID-19, and cheating on tests has been one of them. Guest blogger Tom Guskey explains how to prevent that from happening.
Assessment
Opinion
Treat NAEP as a Reality Check, Not an Advocacy Exercise
If we recognize its limits, NAEP can provide a respected baseline for assessing whether states or the nation are making academic progress, grounding our sense of where we are and what we've done.