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Full-Text Articles in Education

Locally Developed Performance Assessments: One State’S Decision To Supplant Standardized Tests With Alternative Measures, Amy Lynn Abbott Sep 2016

Locally Developed Performance Assessments: One State’S Decision To Supplant Standardized Tests With Alternative Measures, Amy Lynn Abbott

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

In 2014, the Virginia legislature removed select standardized tests from elementary and middle school grades in social studies, science, and writing. In this case study, the author investigates the experiences of key stakeholders in one large school district as they adopt alternative assessment in lieu of multiple-choice, standardized assessments. The specific aim of the study was to develop a descriptive account of one large Virginia school district’s plan for implementation of locally developed, performance-based assessments. Findings on this contemporary topic document the collaboration among district stakeholders to enact alternative assessments that assess students’ content knowledge and higher-order thinking skills. Outcomes …


Alternative Assessment And Accountability: A Case Study Of Policy Reform And Teacher Practice At The District Level, Amy Lynn Abbott Jul 2016

Alternative Assessment And Accountability: A Case Study Of Policy Reform And Teacher Practice At The District Level, Amy Lynn Abbott

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Deliberations on the topic of alternatives to standardized assessments spurred the 2014 Virginia General Assembly legislation (House Bill 930/Senate Bill 306) that removed five, end-of-year Virginia Standards of Learning tests from select elementary and middle school subjects and supplant them with alternative measures (Virginia Department of Education, 2014). In light of the reform, the purpose of this study was to develop a descriptive account of one large Virginia school district’s implementation of alternative, locally developed assessments designed as an intervention to enhance teaching and learning. Emphasis was on the impact of policy change in social studies practice to capture teachers’ …