Academic assessments are subject to extensive technical standards and scrutiny; but social, emotional, and academic (SEAD) assessments and surveys are newer, and many developers of them don’t provide basic information about their validity and reliability.
In an effort to help education leaders review SEAD assessments and select the best one for their specific needs, education equity policy and advocacy organization EdTrust released a comprehensive SEAD assessment evaluation tool on October 24, which the organization says is the first of its kind.
“It’s important that state, district, and school leaders select high-quality, research-based, and equity-focused SEAD assessments, as part of a deliberate system of assessments that can allow for continuous improvement of holistic supports for students. We hope this tool will help education leaders select assessments that promote equity and drive greater SEAD supports to all students,” said Nancy Duchesneau, senior P-12 research manager at EdTrust and one of the co-authors of the report, in a statement.
To develop the tool, EdTrust analyzed 11 SEAD assessments and developed 12 guiding questions for education leaders to ask when considering which to use. The framework focuses on four key themes:
- Equity-centered design, recognizing the impact of systemic inequities on students’ experiences
- Understanding the purpose and context in which an assessment should be used
- Key considerations for identifying assessments that will produce valid and reliable results
- Connecting policy and practice changes, with considerations to improve decision making
Access the tool on the EdTrust website: Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (SEAD) Assessments: A Framework for State and District Leaders
