Test-Based Promotion

Report

Changes in School Composition During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for School-Average Interim Test Score Use

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has exacerbated concerns about using school-aggregate test scores to monitor school performance. In this report, researchers investigate how changes to school composition may contaminate aggregate scores.

Report

Adapting Course Placement Processes in Response to COVID-19 Disruptions: Guidance for Schools and Districts

Because of the pandemic, spring 2020 end-of-year assessments were canceled and schools began the 2020-2021 year without assessment data. The authors compare three strategies to estimate missing test scores and help with course placement decisions.

Research Brief

How Does Repeating a Grade Impact High School Persistence and Behavior?

New York City grade retention policies had little influence on student misbehavior and absenteeism. But retained students averaged fewer high school credits. Retention in earlier grades appears less likely to produce disadvantageous outcomes.

Report

Competency-Based Programs Are an Innovative Approach to Higher Education

Among other benefits, competency-based education programs have the potential to increase the alignment between graduate skills and employer needs, as well as address degree-completion rates by offering new pathways to students.

Commentary

Exploring New Approaches to Higher Education: The Expansion of Competency-Based Programs

Policymakers and educators must determine if the risks of maintaining the status quo outweigh the potential benefits of competency-based programs, especially for those students who are ill-served by the traditional higher education model.

Infographic

Smoke Alarm: Clocking in Could Prove Hazardous to a Teen's Health

A teen who starts working for pay while still in school may be more than 8 times as likely to report tobacco use than peers who don't start working while in school.

News Release

New York City's School Promotion and Retention Policy Shows Positive Results for Students

The New York City Department of Education's test-based promotion and retention policy, which identifies and provides support for struggling students, has demonstrated positive effects for student achievement in fifth grade that continue into seventh grade.

Research Brief

Ending Social Promotion in New York City Public Schools Without Leaving Children Behind

RAND researchers conducted a three-year study of New York City's promotion policy, using interviews, case studies, student surveys, and demographic and test score data to determine its effects on the outcomes of 5th-grade students held to the policy.

Report

Ending Social Promotion Without Leaving Children Behind: The Case of New York City

The New York City Department of Education's test-based promotion and retention policy, which identifies and provides support for struggling students, has demonstrated positive effects for student achievement in fifth grade that continue into seventh grade.

Research Brief

The Use and Misuse of Test Scores in Reform Debate

Sort out how the reform debate has used test scores, what has really happened to them and why, and what the answers imply for future debate.

People

Louis T. Mariano