of purposes in Tennessee, including but not limited to measuring student performance, teaching effectiveness, and school
effectiveness, it is essential for the assessment to produce results that are valid for all of these purposes. This means that each
decision made using test scores should be justified by clear arguments, and that those arguments should be evaluated using
assessment data.49
Use of test scores should also be fair for individual schools and teachers, ensuring that schools or teachers are not penalized
for student factors that are outside of their control.50 An examination of fairness should follow the extensive fairness guidelines laid out in the recently revised Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. In particular, if a test or a particular
use of a test adversely impacts certain groups (e.g., schools serving more low-income students), this adverse impact should
be adequately explained and justified using evidence from the assessments. To the extent that tests or accou