Category Archives: Education Reform

Would AYP Have Sucked Less Without Test Scores?

In my previous post, Whose Job Is It, Anyway?, I did not include accountability systems in my discussion of a state’s responsibility for the validation of common uses of test scores.  As I mentioned in that post, that omission was not because accountability systems do not require careful scrutiny; they certainly do. It is precisely because thereContinue reading “Would AYP Have Sucked Less Without Test Scores?”

Whose Job Is It, Anyway?

Whenever I come across the story Whose Job Is It, Anyway?, I cannot help but think of validity and K-12 large-scale assessment.  Who among us has not sat through countless TAC meetings where the mere mention of the lack of validity evidence in the technical report results in blank stares and handwringing; or in recent years, listenedContinue reading “Whose Job Is It, Anyway?”

I Can See The Writing on the Wall

Organizations, institutions, and individuals who have been called to educational measurement and/or educational assessment as their pathway through life have joined others this summer in an exercise in introspection and self-reflection. The goal of this exercise is to emerge with a better understanding of how we, through our life’s work,  have contributed to, endorsed, promulgated, perpetuated,Continue reading “I Can See The Writing on the Wall”

Too Much of a Good Thing

If asked to identify the biggest successes of the Education Reform movement over the past two decades I would have to put selling the importance of disaggregating data at or near the top of my list.  Acceptance and adoption of the practice of disaggregating data is well beyond what one might expect from mere complianceContinue reading “Too Much of a Good Thing”

Don’t Go There, Charlie

In 2017, I shared an idea for a post with my small circle of confidants. The response was immediate and unanimous, “Don’t go there, Charlie.” Last year, I shared the same idea with a wider circle of family and colleagues and again, “Don’t go there, Charlie.”  But with the world already turned upside down inContinue reading “Don’t Go There, Charlie”

You never forget your first

Time passes. Interests change. Something new catches your eye. Yes, life moves on, but you never forget your first.  You never forget that lecture, book, or journal article that sparked the flame that ignited your career – it’s always a part of you.  For many of my colleagues in measurement and assessment it likely wasContinue reading “You never forget your first”

Admissions & Assessment

Everything We Know About College Admissions and Assessment From A to A   Charlie DePascale Several of my recent posts since have been related either directly,  indirectly, peripherally, or exasperatingly to college admissions testing.  That got me thinking about what we actually know about assessment and its role in the college admissions process. Having experienced theContinue reading “Admissions & Assessment”

State Assessment and High School

A Square Peg for a Round Hole Charlie DePascale We have reached a stalemate. It has been nearly five years since ESSA and the assessment flexibility it offered to states, particularly at the high school level, became law.  Next week, we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the release and almost immediate and universal adoption ofContinue reading “State Assessment and High School”

The All-Decade Team – State Assessment Version

As we begin the 2020s, let’s take a moment to look back at some of the state assessment moments that defined the 2010s Last week, the New England Patriots announced their all-decade team for the 2010s.  The Patriots release was quickly followed by local media offering their own selections of all-decade teams for the Celtics,Continue reading “The All-Decade Team – State Assessment Version”