Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE)

There is growing interest among state and local educational leaders in using performance assessment to develop and assess students’ critical abilities—such as inquiry, communication, and collaboration—that are essential for student success but poorly measured by many traditional assessments. In...

This report outlines the findings of a SCOPE series on student performance assessment. The series includes seven other commissioned papers examining what has been learned over several decades about the use of performance assessments for measuring higher-order thinking and performance skills....

The purpose of this study was to: 1) determine the amount of money a typical state would incur to implement a high-quality assessment (HQA) system including performance components in comparison to the amount currently being spent on their state assessment, and 2) determine if various cost-...

The link below contains multiple articles and videos which explore professional accountability.  Authors include: Linda Darling Hammond, Jon Snyder, Michael Fullin, Santiago Rincón-Gallardo, Andrew Hargreaves, and Travis J. Bristol.

This article builds on Darling-Hammond, Wilhoit, and Pittenger’s (2014) new paradigm on Accountability for College and Career Readiness by focusing on one of its three pillars— professional accountability. The article begins by offering a conceptual framework for professional accountability for...

This paper seeks to clarify and spells out the responsibilities of policy makers to create the conditions for an effective accountability system that produces substantial improvements in student learning, strengthens the teaching profession, and provides transparency of results to the public....

A district’s graduate profile organizes a comprehensive range of expectations for student learning into a clear, cohesive vision of college and career readiness. By starting with the end in mind—a high school graduate who is prepared for postsecondary learning and the 21st-century workplace—a...

In 2008, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) invited a team of researchers, including the authors, to study schools within the city, including elementary schools that were, like those profiled in High Schools for Equity, achieving strong educational outcomes with low-...

The goal of this study is to provide guidance to educators, assessment developers, and policymakers on how to increase student engagement in performance-based assessments. This report takes up this challenge by examining how students and teachers conceptualize and recognize engagement features...

The goal of this paper is to introduce the ways in which dimensions of engagement may be meaningfully incorporated into assessment tasks so that all students are more fully motivated to complete the tasks and perform them well.  This report begins with an overview of research on student...

Engaging students in meaningful applications of their knowledge is a key aspect of both addressing the standards and providing greater access. Not only do the standards emphasize the importance of meaningful engagement in real-world tasks, but evidence shows that engagement is strongly related...

Engaging students in meaningful applications of their knowledge is a key aspect of both addressing the standards and providing greater access. Not only do the standards emphasize the importance of meaningful engagement in real-world tasks, but evidence shows that engagement is strongly related...

This paper recommends an accountability approach that focuses on meaningful learning, enabled by professionally skilled and committed educators, and supported by adequate and appropriate resources, so that all students regardless of background are prepared for both college and career when they...

In this report, Linda Darling-Hammond outlines an integrated approach for a teaching-career continuum and a professional development system that supports effectiveness for teachers at every stage of their careers. The report includes specific guidance about how performance assessments based on...

This research brief describes practical and measurable indicators of career as well as college readiness that the state and districts can look to as they develop accountability plans. The report includes specific information about how performance assessment can be used to measure student...

This report from Linda Darling-Hammond and David Plank profiles the role of California's new accountability system. California’s new accountability system is different from the previous system in nearly every important respect. The new system is grounded in the concept of reciprocal...

This paper from Linda Darling-Hammond, Gene Wilhoit, and Linda Pittenger recommends an accountability approach that focuses on meaningful learning, enabled by professionally skilled and committed educators, and supported by adequate and appropriate resources, so that all students are prepared...

A number of factors account for the failure of performance assessment to capture a large role in achievement testing in the U.S., and this history can inform educators and education policymakers looking for better ways to test students and schools in an era of standards-based accountability.  ...

This paper is one of eight written through a Stanford University project aimed at summarizing research and lessons learned regarding the development, implementation, consequences, and costs of performance assessments.  This particular resource examines why the use of test-based accountability to...

This paper is the culminating report of a Stanford University project aimed at summarizing research and lessons learned regarding the development, implementation, consequences, and costs of performance assessments.  The focus of this paper is outlines how schools must teach disciplinary...