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This report summarizes an investigation of literature published in 1985-2023 on universal design (UD) of large-scale assessments. State education agencies, K-12 assessment vendors, teacher trainers, and classroom teachers are increasingly applying the principles of UD to the instruction and assessment of students from special populations. In theory, UD ensures that instruction and assessment are created from the beginning to be accessible to the widest population of students possible. Yet, it is unclear how these UD frameworks and their associated principles and elements are being applied, or even which UD framework is used. This obscurity and lack of defined UD principles in the research literature creates obstacles in research replication and in identification of evidence-based practices. This scoping review identifies how the concept of UD has been applied to the broad range of U.S. district and state large-scale academic assessments. We included literature on the application of UD to the broad range of K-12 district and state large-scale academic assessments in the U.S.

This report presents an overview of research and development (R&D) in science and engineering (S&E) fields performed at institutions of higher education in the United States, including historical trends and recent patterns. The report first examines the financing and performance of R&D at universities based on patterns in funding and spending, then discusses the physical infrastructure required to enable and sustain academic R&D. The final section addresses the human resources engaged in academic R&D, particularly the graduate students and postdoctoral researchers (postdocs) who perform academic R&D under the supervision of faculty and full-time research personnel. [For "Academic Research and Development. Science & Engineering Indicators 2022. NSB-2021-3," see ED615448.]

Up to 1.0% of the total tested state student population in a subject area may participate in the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). This Brief presents the results of analyses of states' AA-AAAS participation rates from 2015-16 through 2018-19. Information is presented on: (a) the number of states meeting the 1.0% participation requirement in each year from 2015-16 through 2018-19 for mathematics (i.e., math) and reading/language arts (i.e., reading), and (b) states with decreasing and states with increasing patterns of participation rates across the four years in math and reading.

The number of college graduates in the United States reached nearly 68.6 million in 2021, of which approximately 68 million had ever held a job, with nearly 52 million currently employed and 16 million not employed. Although the number of employed college graduates increased by 1.2 million (2.5%) between 2019 and 2021, the number of nonemployed college graduates increased by 2.5 million (17.9%). This large increase in nonemployment coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and signals important changes in the labor market for college graduates. This InfoBrief provides an overview of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the college-educated workforce, drawing on new data from the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG). In addition to collecting basic information on labor force status and earnings, the NSCG collects detailed information on reasons for nonemployment, access to various job benefits, participation in professional activities, and measures of job satisfaction. The 2021 cycle of the NSCG elicited additional information related to the pandemic, such as pandemic-related reasons for not working, presence of telework arrangements, and pandemic-related salary effects. Some of this information is highlighted below.

This Brief provides an overview of how students' insights on the usefulness and feasibility of various accessibility features and accommodations should be taken into account when identifying accessibility features and accommodations for instruction and assessment. Students are often the best source of information about their strengths and needs, and what helps. This Brief uses synthesized and summarized research NCEO conducted on the perceptions of students with disabilities regarding accommodations between 1999 and 2021, and provides suggestions for soliciting students' perceptions on accommodations and involving them in advocating for their needs.

Research and development spending by academic institutions totaled $89.9 billion in FY 2021, an increase of $3.4 billion (4.0%) from FY 2020 (table 1). R&D expenditures funded from federal sources accounted for $3.0 billion of the total increase. Federally funded R&D expenditures had not increased by $3 billion or more since FY 2011, when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 supplemented the flow of R&D support dollars. University-funded R&D expenditures were 2.1% greater ($459 million) than in FY 2020 due largely to several institutions' improved accounting of internally funded R&D through new financial systems and reorganizations. Universities reported $149 million more in R&D expenditures funded from state and local governments, an increase of 3.2% from FY 2020. R&D expenditures funded by nonprofit organizations (-2.6%, -$150 million) and businesses (-1.3%, -$68 million) decreased, while R&D funded by all other sources was virtually flat (0.2% increase, $6 million increase). The data discussed in this report are from the Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey, sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF). For more information on the survey, see "Data Sources, Limitations, and Availability." [Data Sources, Limitations, and Availability is a section within this report.]

To help ensure that assessments are properly administered, states have developed policies about who can administer or proctor assessments, and the training they must have. This report presents the findings of our analysis of states' 2021 policies on the qualifications and requirements for test administrators, proctors, and accommodations providers for general state summative content assessments (e.g., math, language arts, science), specifically as they relate to students with disabilities, English learners, and English learners with disabilities. The individuals who administer or proctor assessments, as well as those who provide accommodations (e.g., scribes, test readers, sign language interpreters, translators), need to be qualified and knowledgeable about how to appropriately administer assessments and how to provide accommodations.

This Brief provides an overview of issues related to the inclusion of students with disabilities and English learners with disabilities in early grade (that is, K-2) assessments and offers strategies for improved practices.

This report provides an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations. Previous reports by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) have covered research published since 1999. In this report, we summarize the research published in 2020. During 2020, 11 research studies addressed testing accommodations in the U.S. K-12 education system. The research also highlights important emerging issues including the role of technology in facilitating accessibility for students with disabilities through built-in accommodations and in considering needed practices for applying technologies. [For the 2019 report, see ED620540.]

The educational pathways of doctorate recipients in the United States differ in many ways by race and ethnicity. Despite steady growth in educational attainment, Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIANs) remain underrepresented among U.S. bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree recipients. The persistence of this imbalance has driven greater investment in initiatives focused on closing these gaps and the identification of best practices within successful academic programs. Extending prior analyses, this InfoBrief examines the baccalaureate origins of doctorate recipients from 2010-20 by citizenship status, race, and ethnicity. Black, Hispanic, and AIAN doctorate recipients from 2010-20 disproportionately earned a bachelor's degree from minority-serving institutions, underscoring the importance of these colleges and universities for enhancing the diversity of the U.S. research enterprise. Although most Black and Hispanic doctorate recipients earned a bachelor's degree from public colleges and universities, a higher proportion of Black and Hispanic students with undergraduate degrees from private colleges and universities went on to earn a research doctorate.

CTA (Cherenkov Telescope Array) is the next generation ground-based observatory for gamma-ray astronomy at very-high energies. The Large-Sized Telescope prototype (LST-1) is located at the Northern site of CTA, on the Canary Island of La Palma. LSTs are designed to provide optimal performance in the lowest part of the energy range covered by CTA, down to $\simeq 20$ GeV. LST-1 started performing astronomical observations in November 2019, during its commissioning phase, and it has been taking data since then. We present the first LST-1 observations of the Crab Nebula, the standard candle of very-high energy gamma-ray astronomy, and use them, together with simulations, to assess the basic performance parameters of the telescope. The data sample consists of around 36 hours of observations at low zenith angles collected between November 2020 and March 2022. LST-1 has reached the expected performance during its commissioning period - only a minor adjustment of the preexisting simulations was needed to match the telescope behavior. The energy threshold at trigger level is estimated to be around 20 GeV, rising to $\simeq 30$ GeV after data analysis. Performance parameters depend strongly on energy, and on the strength of the gamma-ray selection cuts in the analysis: angular resolution ranges from 0.12 to 0.40 degrees, and energy resolution from 15 to 50%. Flux sensitivity is around 1.1% of the Crab Nebula flux above 250 GeV for a 50-h observation (12% for 30 minutes). The spectral energy distribution (in the 0.03 - 30 TeV range) and the light curve obtained for the Crab Nebula agree with previous measurements, considering statistical and systematic uncertainties. A clear periodic signal is also detected from the pulsar at the center of the Nebula., Comment: Accepted in ApJ. v3: updated author list and acknowledgements, fixed typos and other minor issues

In the rapidly expanding field of two-dimensional materials, magnetic monolayers show great promise for the future applications in nanoelectronics, data storage, and sensing. The research in intrinsically magnetic two-dimensional materials mainly focuses on synthetic iodide and telluride based compounds, which inherently suffer from the lack of ambient stability. So far, naturally occurring layered magnetic materials have been vastly overlooked. These minerals offer a unique opportunity to explore air-stable complex layered systems with high concentration of local moment bearing ions. We demonstrate magnetic ordering in iron-rich two-dimensional phyllosilicates, focusing on mineral species of minnesotaite, annite, and biotite. These are naturally occurring van der Waals magnetic materials which integrate local moment baring ions of iron via magnesium/aluminium substitution in their octahedral sites. Due to self-inherent capping by silicate/aluminate tetrahedral groups, ultra-thin layers are air-stable. Chemical characterization, quantitative elemental analysis, and iron oxidation states were determined via Raman spectroscopy, wavelength disperse X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry measurements were performed to examine the magnetic ordering. These layered materials exhibit paramagnetic or superparamagnetic characteristics at room temperature. At low temperature ferrimagnetic or antiferromagnetic ordering occurs, with the critical ordering temperature of 38.7 K for minnesotaite, 36.1 K for annite, and 4.9 K for biotite. In-field magnetic force microscopy on iron bearing phyllosilicates confirmed the paramagnetic response at room temperature, present down to monolayers., Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures

As support continues to grow across the country and across the political spectrum for the federal student-level data network (SLDN) proposed in the College Transparency Act (CTA), IHEP partnered with AEM Education Services, with input from RTI International, to further build out a roadmap to support the implementation of the SLDN. "Frameworks for a Federal Student-Level Data Network: Considerations for Using the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS)" examines how the vocabulary, data models, and more than 550 postsecondary-specific elements already in the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) can streamline implementation of an SLDN, which would bridge the current gaps in data that currently exclude countless students and their outcomes from higher education decision-making. This brief builds on other research to facilitate the implementation of an SLDN that would finally deliver accurate, complete, and timely data on enrollment, completion, and post-college outcomes while staunchly protecting student privacy. The findings in this brief align with a series of convenings that RTI and IHEP have hosted over the past two years with experts across the field of higher education to support the modernization of the nation's postsecondary data system. Recommendations from those convenings have addressed measures and underlying data elements addressed in proposed legislation, institutional views on data submission, and financial aid. [This report was written with contributions from RTI International.]

This report outlines the approaches that state education agencies (SEAs) have taken in defining and using formative assessment practices, including practices to explicitly support students with disabilities. At the state level, there have been efforts to develop or adopt formal definitions of formative assessment practices that guide how these practices are used in instruction. Given the different approaches and definitions that might exist for formative assessment practices, this report aims to describe how states are communicating and supporting these practices with their districts and schools.

This report provides an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations. Previous reports by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) have covered research published since 1999. In this report, we summarize the research published in 2019. During 2019, 11 research studies were published on the topic of testing accommodations in the U.S. elementary and secondary education system. [For the 2018 report, see ED613024.]

This report presents the findings of a survey of states that examined the policies, practices, and procedures State Education Agencies (SEAs) used to monitor IEPs for participation decision making in alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). It is imperative that only students with the most significant cognitive disabilities participate in the AA-AAAS because it has short- and long-term implications. The instruction of students taking the AA-AAAS may be reduced in depth, breadth, or complexity, and this may have implications for graduation as well as reduce post-secondary options.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered considerable shifts in enrollment patterns for both U.S. citizens and permanent residents and temporary visa-holding graduate students within science, engineering, and health (SEH) fields during the fall 2020. After 3 years of relative stability, full-time enrollment of temporary visa holders in SEH master's programs declined. First-time, full-time temporary visa holder enrollment was much lower in 2020 than 2019, with just over 25,000 fewer master's students and almost 6,000 fewer doctoral students starting in 2020 than in 2019. At the same time, enrollment of U.S. citizens and permanent residents continued to increase. Specifically, the number of U.S. citizens and permanent residents enrolled in full-time master's programs increased by about 13,600, and part-time master's enrollment increased a similar amount, about 13,400, between 2019 and 2020. These and other findings in this report are from the 2020 GSS, with comparisons to data from 2017 to 2019. Data from the GSS provide insight into the composition of the current and future science and engineering workforce by collecting data on graduate students, postdocs, and nonfaculty researchers (NFRs) in SEH fields.