Since my last post, several people have asked what I meant by my claim that virtually every decision related to the operation of state testing programs since 1990 has made equating more difficult. In this post, I make my case and discuss whether in the calculus of equating state tests we are approaching our limit.
Category Archives: Assessment
Fundamentals and Flaws of Standards-Based Testing
I am excited to use this week’s blog post to introduce my new book, Fundamentals and Flaws of Standards-Based Testing: Lessons Learned Across Three Decades in Educational Assessment, published by and available from Routledge.
A Commitment To Communicate
Andrew Ho, in his NCME presidential address, defended his use of metrics such as weeks, months, and “years of learning” citing what he dubbed as “the accuracy-engagement tradeoff” while asking “Can good communication enable better accuracy and engagement?” My response, as Andrew suggested is the answer to all such questions, is “It depends.”
Nothing Is Certain Except Tests and Taxes
Happy Tax Day! April 15. That one day each year that Americans are focused collectively on a massive, state-run, data collection enterprise. Seems like the perfect time to reflect on that other state-run data collection activity in which we are all so engaged; that is, PK-12 state testing.
DEI – Putting Our Best Foot Forward
Just about three years ago, with large-scale testing already under attack, the field embraced DEI as recompense for past sins and a pathway to relevance. Now, just as we are starting to take our first tentative steps, the concept of DEI itself is under attack. How do we, as a field and assessment community stand tall?
The Fair, Reliable, & Valid Sex
In the midst of all of the current chaos and disrupted careers, I thought this a good time to step back and reflect on the question that LinkedIn has been posing at the top of my feed in honor of International Women’s Day and National Women’s History Month: Who are the women who have influenced your career?
Are Personalization and Generalization Compatible?
At the risk of overgeneralizing, I am beginning to think that unless we are very careful the current emphasis on personalization is likely to have a negative effect on generalization – long a goal of K-12 education. How can the two concepts coexist, can we achieve better generalization through personalization, or are personalization and generalization, in fact, incompatible?
Running In Circles, Chasing Our Tales
What is our story? What is it that we hope to accomplish with assessment and accountability? What makes instruction or schools effective? Why do we have such a difficult time answering fundamental questions and crafting a compelling narrative?
It’s Socioeconomic Status, Stupid
I thought that I was done writing about the 2024 NAEP results. I had nothing to add to all of the thoughtful recommendations for improving student achievement. But then after spending an afternoon playing with the Watershed Advisors NAEP analysis tool, it hit me that there was still one more thing to say. The problem, as we all know, is bigger than us and the solution must be as well.
misReading Our Mathematics Problem
All too often we consider test results separately by content area. We’ve started to think of English language arts and literacy skills as interdisciplinary, but until I started thinking about the 2024 NAEP results, I don’t think that I fully grasped the connection between student performance in reading and mathematics.
Embrace the Absurd 