Accountability – Embrace the Absurd

Are You My Accountability System?

The new commissioner glided confidently across the room and took her spot, perched at the head of the table. Looking up at her were the young, eager faces of her newly assembled cabinet. All so very excited to be there. Each one ready to do their part to improve student learning – no, to improveContinue reading “Are You My Accountability System?”

Best In Show

If you are like me – and it occurs to me that this may be the first time I have ever typed that phrase – your total exposure to dog shows consists of watching the National Dog Show that immediately follows the annual appearance of Santa at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on NBC (and perhapsContinue reading “Best In Show”

Build Back Better: School Accountability

Or Thirteen Thoughts on Making School Accountability Great Again Stop turning to assessment specialists for advice about school accountability Well, if you take my advice seriously this was a pretty short read. If you choose to read on, do so at your own risk. On a good day assessment specialists have a pretty good handleContinue reading “Build Back Better: School Accountability”

Another Nice Mess You’ve Gotten Me Into

Things change. It’s inevitable. Sometimes the changes are big, sudden, and can’t be missed. Sometimes they are much more subtle, occurring gradually over a long period of time. Some changes are deliberately planned, years and “steps” in advance: first we’ll change A, then B, then C. Some changes are the unintended consequence of another change:Continue reading “Another Nice Mess You’ve Gotten Me Into”

The Coleman Continuum

Any serious conversation about school accountability must begin with clearly stating your beliefs about schools and schooling, particularly those related to public schools in the United States and what it is that you think that those schools can accomplish. I place beliefs about schools, schooling, and the role of public schools along what I haveContinue reading “The Coleman Continuum”

How You Doin’?

It’s such a simple question. We ask it all the time. If I had to guess, I would say that these are now the three little words that wife and I share most often. There is no denying, however, that this innocuous little question becomes quite confounding, perhaps even contentious, when directed toward schools andContinue reading “How You Doin’?”

Another Term Bites The Dust

Florida Man Steals $33,000 Worth of Rare Coins, Cashes Them in for $29.30 Florida Man Fire Bombs Garage That Impounded His Car, Hits His Own Vehicle Florida Man Bastardizes The Term Progress Monitoring We have come to expect, even look forward to, the zany “news” stories that begin with the two-word phrase, “Florida Man.” AtContinue reading “Another Term Bites The Dust”

Ready for RILS!

On Wednesday, I will be presenting at the opening session of the Center for Assessment’s 2021 Reidy Interactive Lecture Series, RILS. My presentation, A Brief History of Innovation: Bursting the Bubble, and the focus of this year’s conference on Design Innovation feel particularly appropriate for the annual conference named in honor of Ed Reidy. ForContinue reading “Ready for RILS!”

A Changing Nation, A Changing Framework

The US Census and NAEP, two of my favorite topics to write about, have been in the news recently because of changes. Last week, data from the 2020 Census was released summarizing changes to the racial/ethnic makeup of the United States across the last several Census counts. Earlier this month, NAEP also made news, albeitContinue reading “A Changing Nation, A Changing Framework”

Do It Anyway

I have discussed re-imagining assessment and offered cautions to the assessment/educational measurement community as we enter the next once-in-a-generation period of re-imagining and reinventing assessment, particularly large-scale testing. In this post, I synthesize those thoughts into a straightforward recommendation to the field: When we truly re-imagine assessment, in virtually all cases, we are doing soContinue reading “Do It Anyway”