Charlie DePascale During my August trip to Minnesota I was able to check two books off of my summer reading list: Relativity – The Special and the General Theory by Albert Einstein and How Schools Work by Arne Duncan. As the old joke goes, one was a book that asked me to rethink basic conceptsContinue reading “How Arne Works”
Category Archives: Education Reform
Give Me A Lever
Charlie DePascale I realized very early in my career that the law of the lever, as explained by Archimedes in some variation of the quote above, was critical to my success. In short, there was little that I could do on my own as an assessment specialist, or psychometrician, to improve education; but working inContinue reading “Give Me A Lever”
A cautionary tale
Charlie DePascale Earlier this month I traveled to Lawrence, Kansas to attend the NCME special conference on the confluence of classroom assessment and large-scale psychometrics. In a panel discussion titled, “I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” Kristen Huff, Karen Barton, Paul Nichols, and I shared the perspective that when bringing together classroom assessmentContinue reading “A cautionary tale”
Remember the Alamo
Charlie DePascale This spring I returned to San Antonio to attend the 2017 NCME conference. The trip brought back memories of my many visits to the Harcourt office there as a member of the MCAS management team for the Massachusetts Department of Education. My last MCAS trip was in August 2002. Some things inContinue reading “Remember the Alamo”
Bridging the Gaps
Charlie DePascale Apparently, it’s all about gaps. I have attended two research conferences so far this month; and at both conferences there was lots of discussion about lots of gaps. At the NEERO conference, the discussion focused on achievement and opportunity gaps. At the CEC convention, the gap between educational research and practice as wellContinue reading “Bridging the Gaps”
Do Your Job ™
Thinking again about the role of state assessment programs Charlie DePascale This week, most of the nation is focused on tournament brackets and one type of madness in March. Some of us, however, are also celebrating our own special version March Insanity. Over the next twelve weeks, millions of students across the country will participateContinue reading “Do Your Job ™”
Growing Pains
Charlie DePascale “To ensure greater flexibility in tracking individual students’ annual progress, growth models provide states with more options for a nuanced accountability system, while adhering to the core principles of No Child Left Behind.” — Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings It all seemed so simple in 2005 when states wanted to include growth inContinue reading “Growing Pains”
One Small Step
Charlie DePascale Forty-seven years ago today, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to walk on the surface of the moon. Their successful Apollo XI mission fulfilled the challenge proposed by President John F. Kennedy in a 1961 speech to Congress that “this nation should commit itself to achievingContinue reading “One Small Step”
We hold these truths to be self-evident…
Charlie DePascale (assisted by the words of Thomas Jefferson) We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. When in the course of human events, significant resources are allocated to educationalContinue reading “We hold these truths to be self-evident…”
Is that all there is?
One of the benefits of giving up a late Sunday afternoon to travel to the site of my Monday morning meeting is the opportunity to leisurely read the newest edition of the Late Late Bell from the Fordham Institute. Last Sunday, as the Amtrak Northeast Regional rumbled toward Providence, I read the following in theContinue reading “Is that all there is?”
