While we spent the fall waiting for PARCC to set performance standards, NAGB to release NAEP scores, and Congress to reauthorize ESEA, students and teachers across the country were going to school day after day, week after week, month after month. Now it’s the middle of January and half of the school year is complete. Continue reading “It’s January. Can Johnny Read?”
Category Archives: Assessment
Run, Forrest, Run!
As the final states release results from the spring 2015 Smarter Balanced and PARCC assessments, this post is a look back at a June 2010 presentation to CCSSO Technical Isssues in Large-Scale Assessment (TILSA) members on lessons learned from my involvement with the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP). The presentation was titled, Lessons LearnedContinue reading “Run, Forrest, Run!”
Take Me Out To The Ballgame
As the baseball playoffs roll on without my beloved Red Sox or adopted Twins, this is a brief look back at the story of the new Comiskey Park. In April 1991, the new home of the White Sox opened in Chicago. One article in the Chicago Tribune marked the occasion with the headline New Comiskey: Enjoy,Continue reading “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
If there are times when you feel you may not be smarter than a 5th grader take heart; that may not be as bad as it sounds. As states are beginning to release results from the spring 2015 administration of the Smarter Balanced tests we are learning that the score needed to reach Level 3Continue reading “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”
One in a Million, A Million to One
Interpreting Individual Student Performance on a Large-scale Assessment This is the third, and final, installment in a series of three posts based on a workshop presented in April 2015 at the annual conference of the New England Educational Research Organization. Across the land, there is a call for state assessments to provide more, better, andContinue reading “One in a Million, A Million to One”
What’s In A Name?
Aligning achievement levels and assessments This is the second of three posts based on a workshop presented in April 2015 at the annual conference of the New England Educational Research Organization. Proficient. The passing of NCLB made it a national goal that 100% of students would be Proficient by 2014; and the law made itContinue reading “What’s In A Name?”
Shall we dance? The final steps in implementing a new assessment program
Charlie DePascale As Smarter Balanced, PARCC, and the other new college- and career-ready assessments proceed through their first operational administration, one might assume that all of the difficult design and development decisions are well behind them. In reality, we are entering the final, and often most harrowing phase of the test design process. Despite allContinue reading “Shall we dance? The final steps in implementing a new assessment program”
Psychometrician, Do No Harm
Charlie DePascale (Prepared for presentation on April 18, 2015 at the NCME annual conference in Chicago, IL) Last fall, I was asked to participate in a panel discussion, responding to questions from teachers on the broad topic of making use of assessments and data from assessments in the classroom. Over the course of the winter andContinue reading “Psychometrician, Do No Harm”
Standard Setting v. Setting Standards
Charles DePascale, Center for Assessment (NCIEA) January 2014 Over the next two years, Smarter Balanced (summer 2014) and PARCC (summer 2015) will engage in standard setting activities to determine the scores on their tests that classify student performance into a particular achievement level. By all accounts, those standard setting efforts will be massive, complex, andContinue reading “Standard Setting v. Setting Standards”
Taylor Swift, Headbanging, Summative Assessment & Actionable Information
Charlie DePascale, January 2014 Immediately following Taylor Swift’s performance during the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, Twitter exploded with reaction to Taylor’s emotional ‘headbanging’ while performing her ballad All Too Well. The hullaballoo made its way through internet news sites on Monday and should reach NBC News sometime next week or whenever Atlanta thaws outContinue reading “Taylor Swift, Headbanging, Summative Assessment & Actionable Information”
