Assessment – Embrace the Absurd

IADA: Starting from Scratch

I suggested in my last post that the word “innovation” does not means the same thing to those of us in the assessment community that it does to the rest of the world. That in itself should not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with our work. Lots of words mean something different toContinue reading “IADA: Starting from Scratch”

IADA and the Comparability Fallacy

The recent Request for Information by the USED related to improving the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) has produced a spate of posts, letters, articles, etc. related to comparability. Spate is such a lovely onomatopoeic word. And so appropriate to describe the arguments being made about comparability. Spate. It feels like some sort of formalContinue reading “IADA and the Comparability Fallacy”

AITA

It’s a fairly common occurrence for me not to recognize or know how to interpret the various emojis, acronyms, and hashtags I encounter while scrolling through the latest on Taylor Swift, the local sports teams, my favorite #GBBO contestants, and a little assessment and measurement angst – iykyk, right. The most recent case: the lettersContinue reading “AITA”

All Systems Go!

Seriously, systems, that is comprehensive and balanced assessment systems: It’s time for you to go. After much deliberation and a bit of soul-searching, I have come to the conclusion that it is time to retire the use of the word systems when discussing or describing educational tests or assessment programs. I’ll admit that letting goContinue reading “All Systems Go!”

“When I’m Sixty-Four”

Will you still need me, will you still feed me When I’m sixty-four? If turning 64 this week wasn’t enough to make me feel old and ask the questions posed above, the fact that the Wikipedia page for Paul McCartney’s iconic song feels it’s necessary to explain that the Beatles were an “English rock band”Continue reading ““When I’m Sixty-Four””

NCME & Me

As I read the tweets and posts from the NCME community assembled in Chicago this week, I find myself back here in Maine reminiscing about my five conference trips to Chicago since 1991. There are the memories of discovering deep dish pizza, walking in fascination along the wall of stones (fragments of history) at theContinue reading “NCME & Me”

Pushing Through on Through-Year

Through-year assessment. Is it an idea whose time has come or a bad idea that just won’t go away? Is through-year assessment the best thing since sliced bread? Or is through-year assessment simply the back-up quarterback; that is, the next best thing that isn’t what we’re doing now. As any football fan knows, unless yourContinue reading “Pushing Through on Through-Year”

A Case for Classifications

The question stuck in my craw this week is how we (i.e., the large-scale testing community) came to be so dependent on scaled scores, or scale scores if you prefer, as the primary method of reporting state test results. Test that are supposed to be providing criterion-referenced information. I could hold Andrew Ho, and DanContinue reading “A Case for Classifications”

Do I See What You See?

Perhaps it’s due to a disconnect between what’s assessed on the state test and what goes on in the school. Perhaps it’s just perspective. One group looking down at the state test results and the other group looking up. Whatever the reason, more than two decades into the NCLB era of assessment and accountability, itContinue reading “Do I See What You See?”

Revise or Reimagine the Joint Standards

Nothing lasts forever. All good things must come to an end. To everything there is a season. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. Whenever it’s time to revise or repair something, you have to ask yourself whether a revision is the best option or is it time for something more radical. Do I fix the transmissionContinue reading “Revise or Reimagine the Joint Standards”