CRESST Named Partner in U.S. Dept of Ed Grant

Los Angeles, CA – The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) of the Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, is the project management partner for a $7.8 million grant awarded to the Iowa Department of Education by the U.S. Department of Education.

The 4-year grant is to design an assessment for English learners with significant cognitive disabilities (ELSCDs). Participating states, including the lead state of Iowa, will design and develop an assessment for ELSCDs – a small and under-served population of students. It would be very difficult for an individual state to develop an assessment of this type due to the small number of students. “This is a state and federal priority,” said Erika Cook, bureau chief of leading, teaching, and learning services at the Iowa Department of Education. “A state the size of Iowa cannot afford to do this alone for such a small number of students.”

CRESST’s role in the grant is assessment system design and implementation for the participating states, including professional development for educators and districts. CRESST Director Li Cai stated, “At CRESST, we believe assessment design is a critical linchpin to understanding and improving the quality of education for every student. This grant award is particularly exciting as it addresses a long-standing assessment concern – and federal requirements – for assessing this small and very important population of students.”

For additional information, please contact CRESST Communications Director Kara Schlosser at (202) 330-8549.