Tests are one important tool state and education leaders, teachers and parents rely on to help schools ensure students are on track for learning what they need for success. Tests signal the knowledge and skills that are most important, show how schools and students are progressing, and help identify where to direct resources so all students get the support they need. And as research from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforceshows, we need tests that help students know whether they are going to be prepared for the rapidly evolving needs of the workforce. To learn more, check out this short briefing paper on why we need high quality tests to support student learning, or click on the map on the right to access state-specific papers that explain how each state can ensure a high-quality test.
Over the past four years, the High-Quality Assessment Project—an initiative sponsored by several foundations and managed by Education First and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors—provided resources to policymakers and advocates around the country to support them in making the transition to higher-quality state tests. With HQAP resources, these state and national leaders engaged in reviews of state test quality, developed materials for better engaging parents and teachers and commissioned research into public opinion about the importance of testing. We’ve collected some of the best resources our partners created and/or recommended.
HQAP also commissioned a set of final “case studies” from some grantees to dissect the activities they undertook, reflect on what worked and why, and share lessons with advocates in other states. You can access them below:
What is a high-quality state test anyway? Click here for a simple handout with criteria that teachers and experts use. To jump to our latest update of the assessment landscape, visit here. For questions or to recommend additional resources, please contact Bill Porter, Partner at Education First.
To measure the skills and knowledge that matter most today, states are adopting or creating tests that utilize time, technology and questioning techniques much differently than when we were in school. Many newer tests take more time as students are required to do more writing and thinking. Some are adaptive and on the computer. Each relies on students to provide a greater degree of evidence to justify their thinking.
The resources below offer state and local education leaders and policymakers materials to help advocate for higher quality assessments. The map immediately below links to state-specific advocacy papers that make the case for higher quality state tests that measure the most important skills. Further below, we’ve collected other helpful resources and tools from around the country.
In February 2017, Education First produced a brief about why higher-quality state tests matter for student learning—and the importance of not just hoping your test is of high-quality but asking teachers, higher education leaders and researchers to verify. To help advocates make the case to policymakers, we also created a customized version of the brief for every state, using data from Georgetown University about how jobs—and the skills and knowledge students needs to be learning (and tests should be measuring)—are evolving.
Click here for the generic brief or on a state below to download the state specific brief. We deliberately left blank space in the top right corner of the first page for organizations to add their logo if they wish. Or feel free to cut-and-paste any of the copy and graphics into your own materials, to further customize.
Resource Name |
Description |
Link |
Education First’s “Good Testing Measures What Matters Most” |
Drawing on both technical details and teacher-developed criteria, this infographic summarizes the main characteristics of quality assessments and what they should measure about student learning. Use the graphic as part of PPT presentations or newsletters or as a handout. | View Infographic |
Stand for Children Infographics |
Stand for Children created these two infographics to help parents, educators and policymakers understand the important differences between old and new tests and to illustrate the key qualities of tests that help measure and prepare students for today’s world. | View Infographic |
Partnership for Learning’s Smarter Balanced Videos |
Partnership for Learning’s short, informational videos help introduce Smarter Balanced assessments to parents, educators and policymakers. | Watch Video |
Advance Illinois’ Making Assessments Work Report, Fact Sheets and Video Series |
This 2014 report and video series produced by Advance Illinois offers visuals and helpful data points to explain the new, high quality assessments Illinois and other states were beginning to use. | View Report & Video Series |
Oregon Department of Education’s Preparing Students for Life Infographic |
Oregon’s two-pager for parents, students and educators provides clear answers to important questions relevant to students, parents and educators. These questions are:
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View Two-Pager |
Future Forward Colorado’s Quality Assessment Infographic |
Future Forward Colorado’s infographic offers helpful insights from the business community on the importance of a “quality assessment.” | View Infographic |
Advance Illinois’ Introduction to the PARCC Assessment |
This video explains how the PARCC assessment is different from previous tests, and highlights how its innovative features help to provide a better measure of whether students are learning. | Watch Video |
States are upgrading their tests to prioritize the skills and knowledge that matter most today. These new tests take more time as students are required to do more writing and thinking. Independent reviews are showing some—especially the PARCC and Smarter Balanced tests—are better than others. Still, too many state tests haven’t been seriously reviewed; they have promises for how they are better or measure what states expect but little evidence to back these claims.
Why should we care? A test that measures limited skills, relies primarily on multiple choice questions or doesn’t match a state’s expectations for student learning is a waste of money, time and effort.
The resources below offer state and local education leaders findings and the methodologies from recent state assessment reviews (conducted by assessment experts and educators) and guidance for how state leaders can organize their own reviews.
Resource Name |
Description |
Link |
Education First’s “Path to Testing that Matters” |
This infographic illustrates the steps and questions policymakers, education leaders and advocates should pursue as they evaluate the quality of their state’s assessments. Use the graphic as part of PPT presentations or newsletters or as its handout. | View Infographic |
Choices and Trade-offs: Key Questions for State Policymakers When Selecting High School Assessments |
The Every Student Succeeds Act gives states the flexibility to decide how to measure student success in high school. This guide—developed with the input of testing and state policy experts across the country and written by Erin O’Hara (a former state assessment and accountability leader)—is designed to elevate the trade-offs between using state- or nationally-developed assessments. The guide proposes a series of issues policymakers should investigate to determine which approach best matches state priorities. | View Guide |
NNSTOY Reviews of State Tests |
The National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) summarizes findings of their studies comparing two new tests that many states are now using to measure college- and career-ready expectations (PARCC and Smarter Balanced) with prior state tests. Its first study in 2015 looked at tests in Delaware, Illinois, New Hampshire and New Jersey, while its second study in 2016 looked at tests in Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Both studies engaged award-winning classroom teachers to conduct the reviews. The new state tests were judged as higher quality and more reflective of excellent teaching practices. | View Study from 2015
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Fordham Institute State Test Review |
Fordham Institute’s 2016 review and webinar discussion of three new multi-state tests (ACT Aspire, PARCC, and Smarter Balanced) and the best-in-class of previous state assessments, Massachusetts’ state exam (MCAS) reveals valuable insight into how well each meets independent criteria for quality and alignment to college- and career-ready standards. Performed in cooperation with HumRRO (see below), the Fordham review looked at 5th and 8th grade tests. | Watch Webinar
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HumRRO State Test Review |
In 2016, the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) released its review on the content and quality of next generation high school assessments as measured against independent criteria. HumRRO researchers and experts examined ACT Aspire, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced). HumRRO conducted its review of high-school tests in collaboration with the Fordham Institute (see above), which looked at the same tests but for 5th and 8th grade students. | View Report |
CCSSO’s High Quality Assessment Criteria |
In 2014 CCSSO, in partnership with Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), developed a set of principles to guide state leaders and district leaders in making sure state assessments are high-quality, coherent, and meaningful to students, parents and teachers. | View Criteria |
Center for Assessment’s Methodology to Review Standardized Assessments for Alignment to College- and Career- Ready Standards |
These resources were developed by the Center to support state policymakers and researchers in conducting comprehensive evaluations of standardized state assessments measuring college- and career-ready standards. | View Methodology |
Assessment 101 for School Boards |
Achieve’s professional development module for local school board members is designed to:
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View Module |
Education First’s Fewer and Better Local Assessments: A Toolkit for Educators |
Education First assembled this toolkit to provide actionable, step-by-step guidance for school system leaders to build a clear, coherent and aligned system of high-quality assessments. A clear, coherent and aligned system of high-quality assessments has the fewest assessments possible, but still has multiple assessments, each with clearly defined and understood purposes and uses. | View Toolkit |
Achieve’s Student Assessment Inventory for School Districts |
This tool offers district leaders ways to take stock of their assessments and assessment strategy through authentic parent and student engagement. | View Tool |
Assessments provide parents, educators, and policymakers with critical information about how to best support students and schools. But when parents don’t allow their students to take the assessments—known as “opting out”—education leaders are forced to make decisions with an incomplete picture, and students pay the price. The below resources help to explain the importance of participating in state summative assessments.
Resource Name |
Description |
Link |
State-Specific Infographics on Testing and Opting Out |
Available in both Spanish and English, these infographics are designed to be accessible, easy ways to share information with parents about why state tests play an important role in supporting student success. These infographics are customized for parents in each state. | View Infographics |
HQAP Guidance on Messaging to Address Issues of Opting Out and Testing |
The High-Quality Assessment Project drafted this memo to offer state and local education leaders and advocacy organizations insights into research-tested messages that most resonated (and least resonated) with parents about the value of state tests. | Download Memo |
Partnership for Learning/Ready Washington Resources |
Washington State’s “Opt In for Student Success” website shares resources and videos to encourage families to opt their students into state tests. One set of videos features students engaging in a discussion about why they are committed to taking the annual state test. | View Website |
PSA to Remind Parents on the Importance of the Annual State Test |
This short animated video, available in both Spanish and English, offers a helpful way to show parents why a state’s annual assessment is important for their children to take. | Watch Video |
Over the past several years, many states have made significant changes to how students are taught and assessed. Unfortunately, not all of those changes have been clearly communicated, leaving some families unsure about how to best support their students. The resources below can help parents understand what has changed, why it has changed, and what it means for their students.
Resource Name |
Description |
Link |
Expect More Arizona’s Communications Toolkit for Schools and Districts |
Expect More Arizona developed this communications toolkit (which includes both English and Spanish materials) in partnership with the Arizona Public Engagement Task Force to help schools and districts communicate with parents about the new AzMERIT test. | Download Toolkit |
National Center for Learning Disabilities’ “High School Assessments for Students With Disabilities in the Era of the Every Student Succeeds Act” |
This paper provides policymakers and parents with background about ESSA’s new policy related to high school assessment and raises key considerations to make sure students with disabilities can fairly and equitably participate in these tests. | Download Paper |
Learning Heroes’ Guides to PARCC and Smarter Balanced |
The Learning Heroes website offers a rich collection of resources from its partners—including the National PTA, Common Sense Media and the National Council of La Raza—to help parents understand the importance and focus of the PARCC and Smarter Balanced assessments. In addition to these Learning Heroes webpages, see also its Readiness Roadmap. The Readiness Roadmap guides parents on topics such as child emotional development, college planning, and more. The roadmap was put together based on input from parents through a national survey. | The Smarter Balanced Test
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Latino Policy Forum’s Assessment Guide for Parents |
This guide provides parents with suggested questions to ask their student’s teacher, tips for understanding PARCC and links to other resources about state standards and assessments. | View Guide in English |
Delaware Score Reports Explained by the Delaware Department of Education |
This video explains the Smarter Balanced Test Score Reports used in Delaware to give parents information about their student’s achievement. | Watch Video |
