Charlie DePascale

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”

For the Hope of It All

As I make my daily walk, enveloped by beautiful fall foliage, taking a break from the news, listening to folklore, and hearing Taylor Swift sing, “Back when I was living for the hope of it all,” my mind drifts back to August 2007. Drawn in by Barack Obama’s message of hope and change, for theContinue reading “For the Hope of It All”

Would AYP Have Sucked Less Without Test Scores?

In my previous post, Whose Job Is It, Anyway?, I did not include accountability systems in my discussion of a state’s responsibility for the validation of common uses of test scores. As I mentioned in that post, that omission was not because accountability systems do not require careful scrutiny; they certainly do. It is precisely because thereContinue reading “Would AYP Have Sucked Less Without Test Scores?”

Whose Job Is It, Anyway?

Whenever I come across the story Whose Job Is It, Anyway?, I cannot help but think of validity and K-12 large-scale assessment. Who among us has not sat through countless TAC meetings where the mere mention of the lack of validity evidence in the technical report results in blank stares and handwringing; or in recent years, listenedContinue reading “Whose Job Is It, Anyway?”