Submissions

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About

Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation (PARE) is an online journal providing access to refereed articles that can have a positive impact on assessment, research, and evaluation. Manuscripts published in PARE are scholarly syntheses of research and ideas about methodological issues and practices, and offer unique contributions to the literature. PARE is intended to help members of the community keep up-to-date with effective methods, trends, and research developments from a variety of settings.

PARE is also committed to highlighting research that focuses on equity in assessment and measurement. To that end, we encourage the submission of manuscripts that address issues of equity and fairness – particularly articles that focuses on the assessment experiences and outcomes for historically marginalized populations.

Focus and Scope

Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation (PARE) is an on-line journal providing access to refereed articles that can have a positive impact on assessment, research, and evaluation. Manuscripts published in PARE are scholarly syntheses of research and ideas about methodological issues and practices, and offer a clear and unique contribution to the literature. PARE is intended to help members of the community keep up-to-date with effective methods, trends, and research developments from a variety of settings.

PARE is committed to highlighting research that focuses on equity in assessment and measurement. To that end, we encourage the submission of manuscripts that address issues of equity and fairness – particularly articles that focuses on the assessment experiences and outcomes for historically marginalized populations.

Why Submit to PARE

There are many practical advantages to publishing your article in PARE.

  • Your article will join others published by leaders in educational assessment, research and evaluation.
  • Your article will have the potential to be seen by an extremely large audience. You can expect thousands more people to see your paper by publishing your article online in PARE.
  • Your article will be indexed in major internet and academic search engines.
PARE is a unique outlet. It is the only peer-reviewed journal featuring practical advice on assessment, research and evaluation.

For the PARE factsheet, click here.

Specifications for Submissions

All PARE submissions adhere to the following technical specifications:

  • Length: 2,000 to 8,000 words, or about eight to ten pages in length, exclusive of tables and references.
  • Content: Clear, unique, and generalizable implications for practice in education, certification, or licensure.
  • Format: Submissions must be double-spaced, with 12 point font and 1 inch margins. PDF, Microsoft Word, or RTF are accepted. LaTeX can be submitted for review, but accepted manuscripts must be submitted in PDF and/or Word.
  • Blind Submission: Manuscripts should be submitted without author names. In addition, submitting authors should do their best to keep their identities anonymous by not citing their own work excessively or gratuitously. For example, references to unpublished reports or conference papers should be avoided if possible. Please do not blind a reference to a previous publication by the author("Author, 2012").
  • Style: Articles should be prepared with sections and subheadings in accordance with the APA Publication Manual, and should be written clearly and concisely.
  • Manuscripts must be submitted without the title or abstract in the body of the submission. You will be asked to enter the title and an abstract of 200 words or less on the online submission form.
  • Tables and graphs should appear in the body of the submission, not at the end.
  • Manuscripts should be submitted electronically on the journal website, at Submit Article.

Peer Review

The overarching considerations around suitability of a manuscript for publication in PARE are the extent to which the submission and any findings or results reported generalize, and whether the manuscript is likely to impact practice. Thus, PARE does not accept evaluations of local programs or validity studies of test instruments. These decisions are at the discretion of the Co-Editors.

Manuscripts accepted for review are subject to double-blinded peer review by three independent and anonymous expert referees. The reviewers are asked to consider the following in their reviews:

  • Is the submission appropriate for PARE?
  • Are the findings generalizable?
  • Are the findings or information likely to change practice?
  • Does the submission use evidence to support the topic?
  • Does the submission discuss major issues or points within the topic?
  • Is the manuscript balanced in its presentation of an issue or questions, or is it clearly identified as having a particular point of view?
  • Is the language of the submission clear and concise?

In order to maintain our standards of high quality, all proposed articles are subject to a rigorous review and refinement process. The process typically involves screening, blind peer review, and editing.

The Editors first carry out a desk review of all submissions to make a determination as to whether the manuscript is suited to PARE. If it is found to be suitable, the manuscript is sent out to review by three reviewers. The aim is to provide submitting authors with a first decision within two to three months. (Note: During the current pandemic, we have found peer review processes to be slower in general. We aim to be as flexible as possible during these difficult times, for our reviewers, while striving to provide authors with information and decisions in a timely manner.) If the manuscript is accepted for publication, editorial suggestions are provided to authors. Authors must address comments and edits received prior to final acceptance and publication. Once the manuscript is finalized, it will be published in PARE electronically.

All submissions accepted for peer review will be sent to three reviewers. Two of the reviewers will be professionals in the testing and measurement field, drawn from either the PARE Editorial Board or a list of expert ad hoc reviewers, and one reviewer will be a doctoral student in the Research in Educational Measurement and Psychometrics concentration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who has successfully completed training in manuscript review and has been certified by the Co-Editors.

Note: As this journal is nested within the College of Education at UMass, the Co-Editors are committed to training the next generation of scholars in educational measurement, assessment, and evaluation. To this end, graduate students who are certified as reviewers by the Editors will be involved in peer review. Final decisions on manuscript acceptance will remain with the Co-Editors.

Publication Fees

There are no fees to publish in PARE. PARE is an open access journal. All articles are published on the journal website hosted by Open Publishing at UMass Amherst and may be freely downloaded for individual, non-commercial use with appropriate citation.

Publication Cycle

PARE publishes one volume per year. As manuscripts are accepted for publication, they will be published on the journal website.

Copyright Notice

Rights for Authors 

As further described in our submission agreement (the Submission Agreement), in consideration for publication of the article, copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of first publication to PARE. This is subject to the expansive personal--use exceptions described below.

Attribution and Usage Policies

Reproduction, posting, transmission or other distribution or use of the article or any material therein, in any medium, requires permission of the author with appropriate attribution (e.g., PARE © ).

Personal-use Exceptions

The following uses are always permitted to the author(s) and do not require further permission from provided the author does not alter the format or content of the articles, including the copyright notification:

  • Storage and back-up of the article on the author's computer(s) and digital media (e.g., diskettes, back-up servers, Zip disks, etc.), provided that the article stored on these computers and media is not readily accessible by persons other than the author(s);
  • Posting of the article on the author(s) personal website, provided that the website is non-commercial;
  • Posting of the article on the internet as part of a non-commercial open access institutional repository or other non-commercial open access publication site affiliated with the author(s)'s place of employment (e.g., a Phrenology professor at the University of Southern North Dakota can have her article appear in the University of Southern North Dakota's Department of Phrenology online publication series); and
  • Posting of the article on a non-commercial course website for a course being taught by the author at the university or college employing the author.

People seeking an exception, or who have questions about use, should contact the editors.

Publication Agreement

The Contributor hereby grants PARE a perpetual non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free License to use, display, distribute, transmit, publish, reproduce or copy the Content, either digitally, in print, or in any other medium. For purposes of this Agreement, Content means the audio, visual, textual, graphical, or other materials provided by the Contributor under this Agreement. Other than the License granted herein, the Contributor retains all intellectual property rights to the Content and the responsibility for enforcing those rights.

Should the submitted Content in the present or an altered form subsequently be published within another journal, anthology or other publication, the contributor agrees to cite PAREas the source of original publication. The Contributor represents and warrants that to the best of his/her knowledge: (i) he/she is the sole owner of the Content or has been otherwise authorized by the owner of the Content to use the Content as contemplated herein, and has secured all necessary licenses, consents and authorizations with respect to use of Content and all elements thereof to the full extent contemplated herein; and (ii) no part of the Content violates or infringes upon the patent rights, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks or constitutes defamation, invasion of privacy or the violation of any right of publicity or other rights of any person or entity. If the Content contains any material which is not original then the Contributor must: (a) provide PARE written permission from the copyright holder of said material; or (b) warrant that it is permitted under fair use or another appropriate exception to copyright; or (b) remove the material from the Content. PARE reserves the right to withdraw content should content later be deemed infringing of any material right.

The Contributor specifically acknowledges that the Content may constitute an educational record under FERPA (20 U.S.C. § 1232g) and expressly consents to the use of the Content as contemplated under this Agreement.

Each party shall indemnify and hold the other harmless for any losses, claims, damages, awards, penalties, or injuries incurred, including reasonable attorney's fees, which arise from any alleged breach of such indemnifying party's representations and warranties made under this Agreement, provided that the indemnifying party is promptly notified of any such claims. The indemnifying party shall have the right to defend such claims at its own expense. The other party shall provide assistance in investigating and defending such claims as the indemnifying party may reasonably request and have the right to participate in the defense at its own expense.

This Agreement contains the entire agreement and understanding between the Contributor and PARE with respect to the subject matter hereof, and merges all prior discussions and representations with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement. No amendment or modification hereof shall be valid or binding upon the parties unless made in writing and signed by all parties. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed under applicable federal law and the laws of the State of Massachusetts, and the parties expressly agree that jurisdiction and venue of any dispute shall exclusively be in Hampshire County, Massachusetts.

Licences

Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation allows the following licences for submission:

  • Copyright
    © the author(s). All rights reserved.
  • CC BY 4.0
    Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
  • CC BY-ND 4.0
    Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
  • CC BY-NC 4.0
    Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
  • CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
    Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
  • CC BY-SA 4.0
    Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.