Author Archives: Charlie DePascale

The Life Of A Show-and-Tell Girl

As Executive Director of the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), Lesley Muldoon has many responsibilities that most of us will never see nor understand. But the public-facing aspect of her job is to serve as front person and ringmaster for the release of NAEP results. This week, she was put in an unenviable position because of that enigma known as 12th grade NAEP. Let’s not make her go through that again.

Entertain, Engage, Educate, Enlighten

My post this week was already going to be about engagement, even before Taylor and Travis shared their exciting news. But not that type of engagement. Stepping back into the classroom, I’ve been more focused “student engagement” the latest in the long line of widely known but recently discovered solutions to cure all that ails public education.

Accountability: Where Do I Begin?

If we’re serious about school accountability then it’s time to wipe the slate clean and begin again. There simply is no way to get from the current system, a glorified. Title 1 evaluation, to a working whole school accountability model. Here’s the first of an “Accountability Week” worth of posts to make that point.

Looking In The Wrong Place

The world and the daily experiences of students have changed immeasurably since the CCSS were adopted in the early 2010s. Yet, our state tests continue for the most part to measure the same things in the same way. Incremental improvements focused primarily on increasing efficiency. We have to acknowledge that perhaps priorities have changed, and that we might be looking for answers in the wrong place.

Is Writing The Hill To Die On?

As the dust settles and the smoke clears following the opening forays of artificial intelligence into the world of PK-12 and higher education, the battleground is becoming clear. Writing is the line in the sand that cannot be crossed, the tract of land that must be defended at all costs. But is writing the right battle to fight?

Without The Will There Is No Way

Celebrating the anniversary of Apollo 11, I wondered why JFK’s “we choose to go to the moon” speech is still widely quoted after 60 years while the 2010 “Beyond The Bubble Tests” call to arms was already described as Arne Duncan’s “now-forgotten speech” as early as 2017 and attempts to access it today yield the dreaded “Page Not Found – 404” message. What are we missing?

Seeking Agreement on State Testing

When results from state assessments, NAEP, and the like are released we’re ready to jump right in with instant analysis to explain or explain away student performance. In our rush to judgments, rarely do we pause to ask ourselves, and more importantly, ask key stakeholders whether they agree with the results.

The Trusty Thermometer

I’m feeling a bit nostalgic for the good old days when standardized tests were described as “thermometers” – a relatively simple tool that did one thing and did it well.   Thermometers, like standardized tests, are still ubiquitous. Why have we abandoned that easily understood metaphor?

Everything Looks Worse in Black and White

There’s a lot to reflect on as we reach the midpoint of 2025, but one story that’s stuck in my craw is the performance of Black and White students on the 2024 NAEP tests. Not the achievement gap per se, we are all too well aware of that, but rather the lack of overlap between the two groups.  I’m not sure what to make of that.