Educational Testing Service (ETS)
Associated IES Content
Grant
Validating Automated Measures of Student Writing and the Student Writing Process to Help Classroom Teachers Implement Formative Assessment Practices
The research team will develop and validate an open-source, digital formative writing assessment dashboard for middle school language arts classrooms, exploiting advances in automated writing evaluation and writing process analysis to identify actionable metrics that teachers can use to identify next steps in instruction. Current literature indicates that writing instruction is most effective when teachers use formative assessment techniques to track student performance while the students ...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A210297
Grant
Exploring and Assessing the Development of Students' Argumentation Skills
This project will identify the malleable factors that predict the development of middle-school students' argumentative writing skills by exploring the students' abilities to generate oral and written arguments. Understanding and writing arguments is an important but difficult skill to acquire. However, research suggests that well-structured interactions, such as guided critical discussions, can help middle-grade students develop these skills, but it is not clear which student and instruction...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A190242
Grant
Changing Together: Classroom Observation for Peer Feedback and Reflection (C2)
The use of an observation protocol by teachers is a potential leverage point for the improvement of teaching practice. However, there is currently limited research on the use of observation protocols by teachers, especially those designed to support improvements in formative assessment practice through peer observation and feedback. Researchers will refine the initial version of an observation system - the Formative Assessment Rubrics, Reflection, and Observation Protocol (FARROP) system (i....
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A180149
Grant
Development of Statistically Sound Methods and User-friendly Software for Performing Data Forensics
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305D170026
Grant
Learning Progression-based and NGSS-aligned Formative Assessment for Using Mathematical Thinking in Science
The goal of this four-year project was to develop and validate an NGSS-aligned and Learning Progression-based assessment tool for Mathematical Thinking in Science (MTS) at the high school level. MTS refers to abstracting relevant measurable variables from 'messy' phenomena, identifying mathematical relationships among the variables, and using scientific ideas to explain the mathematical relationships. Learning progressions (LPs) are "descriptions of the successively more sophisticated ways o...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A160219
Grant
Developing and Validating Web-administered, Reading for Understanding Assessments for Adult Education
A large percent of U.S. adults struggle to read even basic texts, but there are few valid assessments for adult learners who have underdeveloped reading literacy skills across the variety of educational settings that serve them. Consequently, there is limited support for diagnostic, progress monitoring, and outcome measurement that is aligned with empirically supported instruction. The purpose of this project was to develop a digital assessment system appropriate for use with adult learners,...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A190522
Grant
Exploring Writing Achievement and Its Role in Success at 4-Year Postsecondary Institutions
Postsecondary-level writing challenges students and the instructors who teach it. In this project, the researchers addressed this challenge by exploring writing skills and achievement, the malleable factors that predict writing quality, and their links to postsecondary success. The researchers explored three different factors or predictors of writing quality. The first was writing domain knowledge, such as use of correct writing conventions (grammar, spelling, etc.), topic development and co...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A160115
Grant
What Types of Knowledge Matters for What Types of Comprehension? Exploring the Role of Background Knowledge on Students' Ability to Learn from Multiple Texts
The purpose of this project was to explore the relationship between high school students' background knowledge and their reading comprehension. Research has shown that students with more background knowledge (namely the previously learned knowledge that may help students understand what they read by providing extra information that is not included in text) are better able to comprehend what they read than those students with little background knowledge. Although researchers know that backgro...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A150176
Grant
Improving Education Policy Analysis and Practice by Addressing Test Score Measurement Error
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305D140032
Grant
Assessing the Fit of the Statistical Model Used in the National Assessment of Educational Progress
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305D120006
Grant
Expanding Audio Access to Mathematics Expressions by Students with Visual Impairments via MathML
Mathematical expressions are used in instructional materials, test-preparation materials, and educational assessments. These expressions pose an accessibility challenge for students with visual impairments because the information is difficult to convey using the available technologies, such as recorded or human-read audio. Existing assistive technology that provides synthetic speech for electronic text does not improve the accessibility situation for math because the technology generally doe...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R324A110355
Grant
Psychometric Models for 21st Century Educational Survey Assessments
The project developed models for the statistical analysis of data from large-scale survey assessments including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and the Programme for International Student Achievement (PISA). These models reflect recent changes in assessment frameworks such as the increased utilization of technology and the increased integration of tasks. The psyc...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305D110027
Grant
Development of Computer-based Testing Accommodations for Students with Visual Disabilities
Computer-based testing holds promise for increasing accessibility of state assessments for children with disabilities. However, providing appropriate accommodations presents a challenge for this testing method. There have been particular challenges with making computer-based test items accessible to students who are Braille readers. The purpose of this project is to add enhancements in testing accommodations for students who are blind or have low vision to an existing platform that delivers ...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R324A110088
Grant
Developing a Formative Assessment of Academic Reading Comprehension for English Language Learners: A Tool to Improve Teaching and Learning
While states annually implement English language proficiency assessments to measure the progress of English language learners (ELLs) English language development, there is a paucity of appropriate classroom-based assessments available to inform teaching and learning on an ongoing basis. ELL students deal with the dual challenges of acquiring English proficiency to handle academic materials and learning curriculum content. As children progress through the grade levels, course materials become...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A100724
Grant
Creating Cross-Grade Assessments of the Development of Core Algebraic Constructs
There is a large body of research linking the consistent and systematic use of formative assessments to improved student learning. However, many of these programs fall short because either they do not provide specific questions for teachers to ask students, or they do not provide training or support materials to help teachers understand what to do next. The current study seeks to address this gap between the research on formative assessments and what it takes to implement these types of asse...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A100518
Grant
Feedback-and-Revision on Alternate Assessment based on Modified Achievement Standards in Mathematics
Alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards are designed to be challenging for eligible students and measure mastery of grade-level content, but are less difficult than regular grade-level assessment. Many alternate assessments have been created by modifying existing grade level assessments; where modifications include simplifying the language, decomposing subskills, and eliminating a distractor for multiple-choice items. However empirical research supporting these...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R324A100065
Grant
A Technology-Rich Teacher Professional Development Intervention that Supports Content-Based Curriculum Development for English Language Learners
English language learners (ELLs) are taught both by specialists and by regular classroom teachers. Many states acknowledge that all teachers need to know how to support the unique needs of ELLs. The purpose of this project is to develop a teacher professional development curriculum and software package that will improve teachers' ability to instruct their ELL students and prepare materials designed to support students learning English.
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A100105
Grant
A Study of the Missing Data Assumptions of the Non-equivalent Groups with Anchor Test Design and Their Implications for Test Equating
With the introduction of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the number of tests taken by U.S. grade school students grew. Many of these tests administer different test forms on different dates so that students who take the test on different dates will not answer exactly the same test questions. To ensure fair scores on high-stakes exams, individual differences in scores taken on exams on different test dates must reflect differences in achievement levels of the students and not difference...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305U070009
Grant
A Tool for Improved Precision Reporting in Secondary Analysis of National and State-level NAEP Data
Federal funding program:
Grant
Reading Test Design, Validity, and Fairness: A Re-Analysis of Data From the 2000 Fourth-grade Reading Assessment
Federal funding program:
Grant
Using State NAEP Data to Examine Patterns in 8th Grade Mathematics Achievement and the Efficacy of State Education Policy Initiatives
Federal funding program:
Grant
Skill Profiles for Groups of Students at a Given NAEP Scale Level: Development and Demonstration
Federal funding program:
Grant
Are the Inclusion Policies and Practices for State Assessment Systems and NAEP State Assessments Aligned?
Federal funding program:
Grant
The Relationship Between Mathematics Teachers' Content Knowledge and Students' Mathematics Achievement: Exploring the Predictive Validity of the Praxis Series Middle School Mathematics Test
In this project, researchers intended to examine the validity of an existing measure of middle-school teachers' mathematics content and pedagogical knowledge by examining associations between this measure and student mathematics achievement. To do this, the researchers proposed to develop, refine, and employ a value-added model that explicitly accounts for covariate information and weaking of teacher effects over time.
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305M040156
Grant
Developing Reading Comprehension Assessments Targeting Struggling Readers
In the early 2000s, an estimated 26 percent of the 4.5 million 8th graders were below basic literacy. Among adults, about 40-44 million Americans had minimal or no proficiency in prose literacy. This project team addressed the pressing need for comprehension assessments for adolescent and adult struggling readers by developing a series of diagnostic assessments aimed at identifying struggling readers and then providing information about the specific skills or combinations of skills the reade...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305G040065
Grant
Developing and Using Diagnostic Items in Mathematics and Science
In this project, the researchers proposed to develop and pilot test a set of diagnostic questions for teachers to better understand student misconceptions in science and mathematics. In the early 2000s, international comparisons of the academic achievement suggested that U.S. students were less prepared in mathematics and science than their international counterparts. To address this performance gap, the researchers proposed to develop a set of questions that were closely tied to common stat...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305K040051
Grant
National Center on Generative AI for Uplifting STEM+C Education (GENIUS Center)
The development of a competent science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computing (STEM+C) workforce in the era of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is crucial for the nation's economic growth, security, and global competitiveness. To achieve this goal, initiatives that combine a robust understanding of core STEM concepts with competence in computational thinking (CT) and AI are needed. With this goal in mind, the National Center on Generative AI for Uplifting STEM+C Educa...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305C240010
Grant
Student Reasoning Patterns in Science (SPIN-Science)
In this project, the researchers will collaboratively develop, refine, and validate an artificial intelligence (AI) supported classroom assessment tool to measure middle-school students' reasoning patterns when engaging in the practice of scientific argumentation about ecosystem phenomena. The AI-supported assessments will target the measurement of key components required by the practice of scientific argumentation and support various students' reasoning patterns when students engage in argu...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A240356
Grant
Scenario-Based Assessment in the Age of Generative AI: Making Space in the Education Market for Alternative Assessment Paradigm
The purpose of this project is to create a generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI) enhanced authoring tool for scenario-based assessments (SBAs). SBAs place knowledge and skills into a scenario or practical context so that test-takers can be both observers of and active participants in their own performance, building on a body of IES funded investments in developing and validating SBAs. This creates the opportunity for a reflective, metacognitive, and self-regulatory loop that enables ...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305T240021
Grant
UTSA P20 Pathways to Education Research Training Program
The Educational Research Training Program at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), initially funded by IES in 2016, is designed to provide undergraduate juniors with
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305B210028
Grant
Improving Students' Mathematics Experiences: How Does Success Impact Students' Memories, Motivation, and Engagement?
This research explores how students remember and evaluate challenging math experiences that include extra opportunities for success, and how memories of those experiences relate to students' achievement motivation, performance, future choices, task effort, and persistence. The research team will also identify factors that influence students' experiences of academic success. Success can enhance motivation, while failure can undermine students' motivation to engage in similar experiences.
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A190024
Grant
A Theory and Data Driven Approach for Identifying Evidence of Collaborative Problem Solving Skills
The purpose of this project is to develop a framework to assess and identify collaborative problem-solving (CPS) skills in computer-based educational environments and to explore the relationship between collaborative problem solving and student learning outcomes. Collaborative problem solving is recognized as a key 21st-century competency, however, no valid and reliable tool exists to measure and assess the influence of collaboration on educational outcomes. This research aims to address thr...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A170432
Grant
UTSA Educational Research Training Program: P-20 Pipeline Issues
The Educational Research Training Program at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is designed to provide undergraduate juniors and seniors with experiences in conducting education research while preparing participants for doctoral study.
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305B160008
Grant
Training Researchers to Use PIAAC to Further Multidisciplinary Research
In order to help improve policy and practice for educating and training adults, we need a broad, multi-disciplinary field of trained researchers. This training program aimed to help develop such researchers by providing in-depth, hands-on training with the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) data. The PIAAC is a large, international assessment of adults (16- to 65-years old) that aims to assess and compare the basic skills and the broad range of competencie...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305B160020
Grant
Linguistically-Informed Activity Generation Technology to Support English Learner Content Learning
The purpose of this project is to develop a technology-rich instructional program that will improve the language skills and comprehension of content-area texts of English language learners (ELLs). The project is motivated by the awareness that ELLs who may already be struggling to acquire grade-level English language skills may be additionally challenged by the new text demands likely to enter the curriculum as a result of the Common Core State Standards. This project, informed by a prior IE...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A140472
Grant
Validating the Use of Growth Measures from Statewide Standards-Based Summative Assessments for Students with Disabilities
There has been a national push to use growth modeling with scores from statewide standards-based summative assessments to evaluate schools, teachers, and student subgroups. Yet for students with disabilities, there has been little research exploring the use of growth modeling for this subpopulation to determine if interpretations about schools, teachers, and the academic progress of the subgroup are valid. The purpose of this study is to provide validity evidence for the use of test scores f...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R324A120224
Grant
Assessing Reading for Understanding: A Theory-based, Developmental Approach
This team developed and evaluated a new system of assessments aligned with current theoretical constructs and empirical findings pertaining to both reading comprehension and performance moderators; sensitive to changes in development in reading comprehension; emphasize strategic reading processes empirically supported in the literature; provide greater information for guiding instruction (especially for students struggling to reach proficiency); and are comprised of texts and tasks that repr...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305F100005
Grant
Measuring the Development of Vocabulary and Word Learning to Support Content Area Reading and Learning
Vocabulary development is a critical part of learning to read well, and appears to be a significant aspect of the gap between competent and struggling readers. Teaching vocabulary directly can help enhance vocabulary learning and reading comprehension. While the importance of vocabulary development may be apparent to researchers and practitioners, the state of the art in vocabulary assessment is still rather limited. The purpose of this project is to develop improved methods for measuring vo...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A080647
Grant
Assessing Reading in the 21st Century Conference: Aligning and Applying Advances in the Reading and Measurement Sciences
Assessing Reading in the 21st Century Conference: Aligning and Applying Advances in the Reading and Measurement Sciences
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305U070002
Grant
Using State NAEP Data to Examine Patterns in 8th Grade: Math Achievement for Black Students and White Students
Using State NAEP Data to Examine Patterns in 8th Grade: Math Achievement for Black Students and White Students
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R902B070045
Grant
Developing Accessible and Valid Reading Assessments: A Research Based Solution
Comprehension is the ultimate educational goal of reading. There are subcomponent skills to reading that are essential building blocks to mastery of reading comprehension. These are: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies. Identifying subcomponent profiles of weaknesses and strengths is essential for developing individual interpretive, descriptive, and diagnostic reports for students with learning disabilities that affect reading. This project will des...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
H324F040001
Grant
National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects: Research and Development for Students with Visual Impairments
Students with visual impairments present an ongoing challenge in large-scale assessments of reading proficiency, and issues persist concerning the valid assessment of reading with this population, particularly when some type of technology-assisted reading (e.g. text to speech) is involved. The purpose of this project is to: (a) examine the psychometric properties of state assessments for students with visual impairments, (b) conduct research on the development of an alternate assessment of ...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R324A060034
Contract
The Impact of a Reading Intervention for Low-Literate Adult ESL (English as a Second Language) Learners
The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) authorized grants to states to fund local programs of adult education and literacy services. Funded at $554 million in Fiscal Year 2008, the programs provided instruction in reading, numeracy, GED preparation, and English literacy. The AEFLA also authorized National Leadership Activities. Such activities, which were designed to enhance the quality of adult education and literacy programs nationwide, included the identification of the most suc
Federal funding program:
Contract number:
ED-01-CO-0026/0025
Grant
Toward Theoretically Meaningful Automated Essay Scoring
This project will evaluate a theoretically driven method for scoring NAEP writing assessments automatically.
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R902B040006
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