Resource Library

AALA works to promote language assessment in Asia, using the following to guide their work: (1) to offer students and faculty in colleges and universities opportunities to understand and present current research and practice; (2) to offer professional staff in assessment agencies opportunities to understand and present current research and practice; (3) to conduct an annual conference and other events in the region to promote interaction and communication among students, faculty, and professionals; (4) to promote professional publications that advance theory and practice; and (5) to advocate for the ethical use of assessments and assessment use.

The National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) is a national non-profit, non-partisan organization working to increase access to higher education for economically disadvantaged students. Confident that education paves the way to social equity, NCCEP advances college access through advocacy, training, and research.

Connecting the UK to the world and the world to the UK, the British Council is Britain's international cultural relations body. In an inter-dependent, turbulent world, [the British Council] believes that creating opportunities for people to understand each other better, work together more, and learn from one another is crucial to building secure, more prosperous and sustainable futures for us all.

ED Data Express is a Web site designed to improve the public's ability to access and explore high-value state-level education data collected by the U.S. Department of Education. The site is designed to be interactive and to present the data in a clear, easy-to-use manner, with options to download information into Excel or manipulate the data within the Web site. The site currently includes data from EDFacts, Consolidated State Performance Reports (CSPR), State Accountability Workbooks, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), the College Board, and the Department's Budget Service office.

AIR is one of the world's largest behavioral and social science research and evaluation organizations. The Center's overriding goal is to use the best science available to bring the most effective ideas and approaches to enhancing everyday life. For the Center, making the world a better place is not wishful thinking. It is the goal that drives them.

The Language Policy Research Network (LPREN) is an international organization of researchers, scholars, and stakeholders in the field of educational language policy. We host colloquia at conferences, invite publications related to the field, convene at events, and share resources, announcements, and other opportunities via the LPREN listserv.

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that you may freely use and reuse, without charge. Open Educational Resources are different from other resources a teacher may use in that OER have been given limited or unrestricted licensing rights. That means they have been authored or created by an individual or organization that chooses to retain few, if any, ownership rights. For some of these resources, that means you can download the resource and share it with colleagues and students. For others, it may be that you can download a resource, edit it in some way, and then re-post it as a remixed work. OER often have a Creative Commons or GNU license that state specifically how the material may be used, reused, adapted, and shared.

The Indiana Center for Intercultural Communication (ICIC) is a university-based research and service organization that is part of the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts in the Department of English at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The ICIC conducts internationally recognized linguistics research on language and intercultural communication. The Center also provides practical intercultural and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) trainings in academic, professional, and other occupational contexts that are informed by its research. ICIC's current research is focused on academic support for international researchers and scholars. The Center’s genre analysis based research has resulted in the development of an intercultural communication and language workshop series. The goal of these ESP workshops is to equip non-native English speaking researchers and scholars with practical skills to improve their scholarship. The Center also researches health communication among linguistically and culturally diverse populations. ICIC's research has resulted in the development of the Interpersonal Communication Assessment (ICA), which measures medical residents' knowledge of U.S. clinical and residential norms for improved interactions with diverse patients and colleagues.

Aqueduto (The Association for QUality EDUcation and Training Online) is a charitable organisation dedicated to: (1) evaluating blended and online training courses against a quality assurance framework; (2) representing providers of such courses in a crowded marketplace, varying in quality; and (3) helping professionals identify such courses, and enroll with confidence

The Regional Language Centre (RELC), an educational project of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), is located in Singapore. Since its inception in July, 1968 SEAMEO RELC has not ceased to strive towards higher goals in the service of language education of the countries of Southeast Asia. The members of SEAMEO are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Spain are associate members.

The mission of the National Education Policy Center is to produce and disseminate high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. The Center's belief is that the democratic governance of public education is strengthened when policies are based on sound evidence.

The IATEFL Testing, Evaluation, and Assessment Special Interest Group (TEA-SIG) includes people who are interested in the process and product part of learning English as a second and foreign language, in testing, evaluation and assessment in ELT. The group's main focus includes international viewpoints on (1) classroom assessment, (2) classroom tests, (3) external standardized examinations, (4) evaluation of teaching, (5) evaluation of institutions and programs.

The George Lucas Educational Foundation was created to address this issue the issue that children today are greatly influenced by technology. The foundation's vision is of a new world of learning, where kids and parents, teachers and administrators, policy makers and the people they serve, all are empowered to change education for the better; a place where schools have access to the same invaluable technology as businesses and universities -- where innovation is the rule, not the exception; a place where children become lifelong learners and develop the technical, cultural, and interpersonal skills to succeed in the twenty-first century; a place of inspiration, aspiration, and an urgent belief that improving education improves the world we live in. Edutopia is the tangible embodiment of that vision. Edutopia.org contains a deep archive of continually updated best practices, from classroom tips to recommendations for district-wide change. Allied with a dedicated audience that actively contributes success stories from the field, the foundation's mission relies on input and participation from schools and communities.

The Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB) is recognized as the centre of expertise in support of Canadian national standards for describing and measuring adult English and French second language proficiency, and is the national standard setting body. The goal of the CCLB is to promote excellence in the teaching and learning of English and French to adults across Canada by establishing and supporting language proficiency standards that affect program delivery and policy development in the areas of education, labor market access, and immigrant integration across the country. CCLB works on policy, guidelines, research and development, and to promote their recognition and use as practical, fair and reliable national standards of second language proficiency in educational, training, community and workplace settings.

The mission of the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) is to broaden the awareness and understanding of policymakers and to strengthen the youth policymaking process by bridging policy, practice, and research, by identifying the most pertinent high-quality information on youth issues available and providing a forum for prominent leaders in government, programming, and research, as well as the youth themselves, to share their viewpoints and expertise about the policies and practices that improve outcomes for all youth. The American Youth Policy Forum is a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional development organization based in Washington, DC, which provides learning opportunities for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working on youth and education issues at the national, state, and local levels. AYPF's goal is to enable participants to become more effective in the development, enactment, and implementation of sound policies affecting the nation's young people by providing information, insights, and networks to better understand the development of healthy and successful young people, productive workers, and participating citizens in a democratic society. AYPF does not lobby or advocate for positions on pending legislation. Rather, they believe that greater intellectual and experiential knowledge of youth issues will lead to sounder, more informed policymaking. They strive to generate a climate of constructive action by enhancing communication, understanding, and trust among youth policy professionals.

The Association of Test Publishers (ATP) was founded to promote and develop testing and assessment best practices and to facilitate an environment that would benefit test-takers, businesses, educational organizations, and society in general. ATP charges itself with defining professionalism for assessment and ethics, and promoting adherence to these principles. To achieve this purpose, ATP focuses on two initiatives: advocacy for the industry and education for its members. The association is committed to promoting the benefits of best practices in testing and the value of these benefits to society.

The International Education Programs Service (IEPS), part of the U.S. Department of Education, administers 14 international education programs. The mission of IEPS is to meet the national needs for expertise and competence in foreign languages and area or international studies. These programs are complementary in nature and benefit a variety of audiences through training programs, research, start-up or enhancement projects, and fellowships. The International Education and Foreign Language Studies domestic programs are designed to strengthen the capability and performance of American education in foreign languages and in area and international studies. Overseas programs are intended to improve secondary and postsecondary teaching and research concerning other cultures and languages, training of specialists, and the American public's general understanding of the peoples of other countries.

ILTA's purpose is to promote the improvement of language testing throughout the world. It does this by (1) stimulating professional growth through workshops and conferences; (2) promoting the publication and dissemination of information related to the field of language testing; (3) developing and providing for leadership in the field of language testing; (4) providing professional services to its members; (5) increasing public understanding and support of language testing as a profession; (6) building professional pride among its membership; (7) recognizing outstanding achievement among its membership; (8) cooperating with other groups interested in language testing; and (9) cooperating with other groups interested in applied linguistics or measurement.

Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute sponsors activities and programs with a primary focus on preservation, transmission, and instruction of Persian culture. To execute its mission, Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute develop initiatives that provide support for partnerships with other nonprofit organizations and institutions such as schools, universities, libraries, museums, and private sector donors that share its goals in support of Persian culture. Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute supports cultural and educational activities that bring to light the richness and diversity of Persian culture. The Institute is dedicated to fostering community among Persian people and those interested in Persian cultural heritage. The Institute encourages intercultural communication with host countries and focus on the following activities: (1) establishing Persian studies programs at major universities; (2) awarding fellowships and scholarships for excellence in Persian studies; and (3) working with other nonprofits that share its mission in support of Persian culture.

CILT, the National Centre for Languages seeks to inform, influence, and comment objectively on policy with relevance for languages and intercultural skills. CILT also researches, consults, and advises on (1) language policy; (2) education policy as it relates to languages and intercultural skills; and (3) policy in other fields (e.g. international trade, tourism, etc., where there is a need to make explicit the connection to languages and intercultural skills).