Charlie DePascale

You Can Lead a Horse to Water

What is the purpose of education? Whether we’re talking about primary, elementary, secondary, or postsecondary education, what is its purpose, the real purpose, the reason we are investing so much time and money in this endeavor. Short answer – behavior – establishing, maintaining, changing, if necessary, and ultimately, refining, behavior. You can refer to theContinue reading “You Can Lead a Horse to Water”

So, you’re interested in a career in educational measurement

During the first pandemic summer I attended a virtual NCME session organized by Derek Briggs titled, “Teaching and Learning ‘Educational Measurement’: Defining the Discipline?” In that session distinguished panelists addressed the critical question, “What should it mean to be an educational measurement expert in the future?” Later in 2020, as president of NCME, Derek convened aContinue reading “So, you’re interested in a career in educational measurement“

I Blog, Therefore I Am

We live in a world where the gap in time between having a thought and sharing it with the world has been all but eliminated. Case in point, this is the 200th post I have published since launching my blog in 2015, with 141 of those (70%) coming in the three years since my retirementContinue reading “I Blog, Therefore I Am”

Spare Change, State Tests and other Anachronisms

I emptied our spare change jar the other day. The actual “jar” itself has at times been an empty ricotta container or peanut butter jar. But for years it has sat in the same spot collecting the loose change from our pockets at the end of the day. It’s right there at the entrance toContinue reading “Spare Change, State Tests and other Anachronisms”

The Most Important Question

In states across the country, lots of questions are being generated as state policymakers and local educators pore over results from the Spring 2022 state tests in English language arts, mathematics, and science. More often than not, however, the single most important question of all is not asked directly. At the district and school level:Continue reading “The Most Important Question”

NAEP – A Halftime Report

We are at halftime of the 2022 NAEP Reporting Bowl and, my friends, let’s just say we have some catching up to do. The NAEP Long Term Trend results are in the books, and they are not good. Others have chosen more colorful terms like “harrowing” and “shocking” to describe the results but, at leastContinue reading “NAEP – A Halftime Report”

The Clock is Running

The Clock is Running – what a terrible title and miserable metaphor for a post about the first day of school. But the fact is that as soon as the bell rings, the first roll call is taken, the pledge of allegiance recited, and a brief period of silent meditation completed, the clock is running.Continue reading “The Clock is Running”

MCAS 2001 – Hindsight is 220

Last week, with relatively little fanfare, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to “raise MCAS graduation requirements” beginning with the Class of 2026 (i.e., students beginning high school this fall). Although the approved requirements do have the effect of “raising” the test-based graduation requirements as reported, what they actually do is alignContinue reading “MCAS 2001 – Hindsight is 220”

Public Schools – In Need of Serious Change

Back To School season is here! It’s one of the few special times of the year that marketers cannot overextend, although they have tried. We accept Halloween candy appearing in the aisles as soon as Christmas in July ends and non-stop Christmas movies and music beginning the week before Halloween, but nobody wants to seeContinue reading “Public Schools – In Need of Serious Change”

Slow Down, You Move Too Fast

Once again, those of us on the technical side of large-scale assessment and educational measurement find ourselves behind the curve. In the 1990s, the public clamored for achievement levels and criterion-based results while we were comfortable reporting percentile ranks and grade equivalent scores. Just as we were “getting a handle” on standard setting and percentContinue reading “Slow Down, You Move Too Fast”