Submission Guidelines

All manuscripts submitted to Research & Practice in Assessment (RPA) may be related to various higher education assessment themes (see below), and should be research-based incorporating appropriate research design (qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods), data collection, and analyses.

Assessment Practice:
  a) trends in practice, b) learning improvement, c) diversity, equity and inclusion, d) best practices

Assessment Measurement:
  a) instrument design, b) validity and reliability, c) advanced quantitative design, d) advanced qualitative design

Assessment Policy/Foundations:
  a) accreditation, b) social and cultural context, c) historical and philosophical context, d) political and economic context

Reviewers for Research & Practice in Assessment utilize a rubric as they provide feedback and make recommendations to the editorial board. Authors should review the rubric prior to submitting a manuscript.The RPA rubric can be downloaded here: RPA Rubric

Articles

Articles for Research & Practice in Assessment should be research-based and include concrete examples of practice and results in higher education assessment.  The readers of Research & Practice in Assessment are associated with myriad institutional types and have an understanding of basic student learning and assessment practices.  Articles for publication will be selected based on their degree of relevance to the journal’s mission, compliance with submission criteria, quality of research methods and procedures, and logic of research findings and conclusions.  Approximately forty percent of submissions are accepted for publication.

Learning Improvement Corner

The Learning Improvement Corner offers researchers and practitioners an opportunity to showcase successful learning improvement initiatives, using assessment as a tool to demonstrate the success of the initiative (e.g., by measuring baseline learning and subsequently documenting improvement). Submissions that highlight strategies to connect assessment with curricular innovations and focus on creative collaborations across campus will also be considered. Authors that wish to be considered for the LIC should indicate as such in the cover letter accompanying the manuscript submission.

Reviews

Reviews (book, media, or software) are significant scholarly contributions to the education literature that evaluate publications in the field.  Persons submitting reviews have the responsibility to summarize authors’ works in a just and accurate manner.  A quality review includes both description and analysis.  The description should include a summary of the main argument or purpose and overview of its content, methodology, and theoretical perspective.  The analysis of the book should consider how it contrasts to other works in the field and include a discussion of its strengths, weaknesses and implications.  Judgments of the work are permitted, but personal attacks or distortions are not acceptable as the purpose of the review is to foster scholarly dialogue amongst members of the assessment community. The RPA Editor reserves the right to edit reviews received for publication and to reject or return for revision those that do not adhere to the submission guidelines.

Special Features

Each issue of Research & Practice in Assessment highlights the work of a noted researcher or assessment professional in a manner that aims to extend the scholarly dialogue amongst members of the assessment community.  Special Features are invited by the Board of Editors and often address the latest work of the author.

Statement of Ethics

Content submitted to Research & Practice in Assessment should be original, and should not infringe copyright or contain knowingly inaccurate statements or findings. Proper acknowledgment or citation of others’ works should be given. Research involving human subjects should be performed under the guidance and approval of an appropriate institutional ethics committee or review board. Research suspected of being carried out unethically will be rejected by the Editors.

Manuscript Format

    Please note that submissions that do not conform to these requirements may not be sent out for review and will delay the publication timeline.

  • Style: Submissions should be formatted in the latest edition of APA.
  • Format: Manuscripts should be submitted electronically in an editable file format such as .docx or .doc.  The standard manuscript form has 1 inch margins on all sides located in 12 point New Times Roman font.
  • Tables/Figures: All tables and figures should be placed within the manuscript where authors suggest they best fit within the text. In addition, tables and figures should be submitted electronically as separate files in an editable file format. Individual tables and figures must fit on a single page.
  • References: References should include the relevant DOI when available.
  • Blind Review: Identification information should be limited to the cover letter.  Do not include identifiable self-references within the manuscript, electronic file, tables, figures, or references (i.e. “in press”).
  • Length (excluding title page, references, appendices, etc.):
    • Articles should be 8-16 typed, double spaced pages (2,000-6,000 words)
    • Learning Improvement Articles should be 5-8 typed, double spaced pages (2,000-6,000 words).
    • Reviews should be 5-8 typed, double spaced pages (1,250 – 2,000 words).
    • Special Features should be 5-8 typed, double spaced pages (2,000 – 6,000 words).
  • Abstract: An abstract of 150 words or less should be included (except for reviews).
  • Copyright: Manuscripts shall not have been registered for copyright or published elsewhere prior to publication in Research & Practice in Assessment.
  • Double Submission: Manuscripts currently under review elsewhere shall not be considered for publication in Research & Practice in Assessment.
  • Deadlines:  Submissions are accepted at any time.
  • Cover letter: Single page cover letter should include a basic a biographical profile of the author(s), primary author contact information, and the specific categorical framework of the submission (i.e. sub-categories of assessment measurement or assessment policy/foundations).

Manuscript Submission

Authors should submit manuscripts via Scholastica.

Submit to Research & Practice in Assessment

Self-Archiving Policy

RPA does not place any limitations or restrictions on self-archiving. We ask that when possible, please include a link to the article and to the issue in which the article appears.

Questions may be addressed to the RPA Editor.