Assessment – Page 6 – Embrace the Absurd

What Do We Want From State Testing?

If there’s one thing the last 25 years have taught us, it’s that you can’t always get what you want from state testing. As the Stones said, however, if you try sometimes, well, you’ll find you get what you need. Let’s give it a try.

State Testing: How Did we Get Here?

This post addresses the first of our “big questions” of state testing: “How did we get here?” The answers to that question also shed light on the related question “Where are we?”

The Big Questions

We all feel a sense of urgency regarding the need to improve state testing. Before plowing ahead willy-nilly, however, perhaps it would be beneficial to our peace of mind, our field, and our stakeholders, if we pause a moment, take a breath, and consider the big picture and the big questions.

Happy Halloween – Assessment Edition

Whether you regard large-scale assessment as a cruel trick or a tasty treat, one thing is clear. Large-scale tests and Halloween go together like chocolate and peanut butter or Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

Test or Treat! Trick or Test!

Happy Halloween!

The Future of Assessment is Assessment

We began by trying to measure ill-defined constructs and latent traits like intelligence and aptitude. Then we tried to build tests aligned to sets of content and achievement standards. Maybe it’s time that we made assessment the focus of educational assessment.

When am I ever going to use this?

When am I ever going to use this? It’s a question that I still ask myself several times per week as my quest to reclaim the house from three decades of cumulative clutter enters its fourth year. Following a modified version of the KonMari Method, I have cycled through clothes, books, and papers three times,Continue reading “When am I ever going to use this?”

Time’s Up. Pencils Down.

As evidenced by the Apple Watch on my wrist and the Food Diary sitting on my desk, I am a firm believer in if first you don’t succeed, try, try, again. When you fall down, you pick yourself up again. I’ve even managed to convince myself that I understand why if you fall seven times,Continue reading “Time’s Up. Pencils Down.”

Moon and Stars Above

There was a time I was certain that I was going to be an astronomer when I grew up. That period fell between my fireman/baseball player phase and the musician/educator phase that lasted into my late-20s. It was the end of the Sixties and most everyone’s attention was focused on the heavens because there wasContinue reading “Moon and Stars Above”

Affirming and Actionable Assessment

As I took in the post-decision analysis in the wake of the affirmative action ruling something jumped out at me. Among those lamenting the Supreme Court’s decision, two very different arguments were being made in support of the importance of colleges and universities being able to use race as a factor in their admissions process.Continue reading “Affirming and Actionable Assessment”

Don’t Get Old

“Don’t get old.” Those were the final words of wisdom my father shared with me as we were wrapping up a visit at the rehab center about three days before he passed away in late June 2009. I was 50 at the time and Dad was a month shy of turning 77. I’ve cut thatContinue reading “Don’t Get Old”