Charlie DePascale

All Systems Go

What Has Stopped Us from Getting to Go on Balanced Assessment Systems K-12 large-scale assessment generates a great deal of discord, but there are two statements regarding large-scale assessment on which there is near universal agreement: The importance and impact of large-scale assessment on K-12 education is disproportionate to its utility in improving student learning.Continue reading “All Systems Go”

Little Boxes All The Same

It’s time to stop trying to fit performance assessment into the large-scale assessment box When I think of the repeated attempts over the past twenty-five years to integrate performance assessment into large-scale K-12 assessment two images come to mind. The first image is Pete Seeger singing Little Boxes. Little boxes on the hillsideLittle boxes made of tickyContinue reading “Little Boxes All The Same”

When it seems the magic slipped away

A blog year in review If there was ever a year in which it seems the magic of large-scale, K-12 testing had slipped away, 2020 was that year. Our field found itself under attack for its racist past and a present in which tests produce outcomes that have a disproportionately negative impact on non-white and economicallyContinue reading “When it seems the magic slipped away”

How the Grinch Stole Testing

Everyone in the state house likes State Tests a lot, But to the west at the uni, the Grinch he did not! The Grinch hated State Tests! The whole testing season! Now, please don’t ask why. To ask would be treason. It could be, perhaps, he was wound up too tight. It could be hisContinue reading “How the Grinch Stole Testing”

A Pawn’s Life

The Queen’s Gambit, the compelling Netflix mini-series, has created a mini-resurgence in interest in chess, boosting sales of chess sets and chess books. For nerds of a certain age, however, it wasn’t a fictional account of a troubled young American chess champion taking on the Soviets that grabbed our attention and made chess a required chapter in ourContinue reading “A Pawn’s Life”

‘Tis the gift to be simple

’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free’Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,And when we find ourselves in the place just right,’Twill be in the valley of love and delight.When true simplicity is gained,To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,To turn, turn will beContinue reading “‘Tis the gift to be simple”

Give NAEP A Chance

Followers of this blog over the past few years may recall that I have been just a tad critical of NAEP, on occasion, for their interminable process of analysis and reporting, and their obsessive clinging to a trendline that serves as both their raison d’etre and a noose around their necks. In this through-the-looking-glass year,Continue reading “Give NAEP A Chance”

Measure Twice, Model Once

As states and their assessment contractors prepare for the possible resumption of state assessment programs in spring 2021, one critical question being considered is how, or even whether, to link results from the spring 2021 tests to the last-administered spring 2019 tests; or to put it more generally, what equating procedures should be used toContinue reading “Measure Twice, Model Once”

The People You Meet

You meet a lot of people over the course of a 30-year career – even if you do skip most of the group dinners and all of the receptions. If you are lucky, there are a few close friends and perhaps a mentor or two. At the other end of the continuum, there are so manyContinue reading “The People You Meet”

The Stakes are High, The Water’s Rough

In the wake of the events of 2020, the assessment and measurement community has made a commitment to do the right thing to ensure that tests are used appropriately. The community has vowed to be more proactive in speaking out against policies and test uses that result in inequitable outcomes or consequences, while actively promotingContinue reading “The Stakes are High, The Water’s Rough”