Assessment – Page 7 – Embrace the Absurd

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”

A Through Line to Through-year

After a series of fits and starts over the past 15 years, through-year assessment finally is having its day in the sun. The warmth of the sun inevitably and appropriately, however, becomes the glare of the spotlight, and halfway through the year of through-year it’s not yet clear how well through-year assessment will withstand theContinue reading “A Through Line to Through-year”

One of My Posts is Not Like the Others

In August 2019, Taylor Swift released the song Cruel Summer as the second track on her long-awaited seventh studio album, Lover. Despite initial commercial success, critical acclaim, and the sickest bridge you’ve ever heard, the song was never released as a single. Blame it on the pandemic. A few weeks earlier in the summer ofContinue reading “One of My Posts is Not Like the Others”

The Best of Both Worlds

The concept sounds so appealing: The Best of Both Worlds. You can enjoy the advantages of two different situations or opportunities at the same time. You can have your cake and eat it too. It’s the American Dream – a Party in the USA! But is it really possible to have the best of bothContinue reading “The Best of Both Worlds”

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””