Life – Embrace the Absurd

Train Problems

Are train problems still a staple of the elementary and early secondary school curriculum? I hope so. Sure, problems based on train travel were already an anachronism by the time I was solving them in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Trains? Who was thinking about trains when people were flying to the moon andContinue reading “Train Problems”

The “Standard Setting”-ification of Society

Friends, psychometricians, countrypersons, heed my call. If as the poet says, the evil that men do lives after them; then it’s time to face the music, man. We got trouble my friend, right here, I say trouble, right here and it isn’t pretty. Why sure, I’ve set standards on large-scale tests. Certainly mighty proud I sayContinue reading “The “Standard Setting”-ification of Society”

I’m Feeling ’22 (Taylor’s Version)

2022. It’s finally here. The one thought that kept so many of us going these last two treacherous, dangerous, and often reckless, years was that if we could just hold on a little longer, we would be happy and free to shamelessly quote Taylor Swift for an entire year. Everything will be alright if weContinue reading “I’m Feeling ’22 (Taylor’s Version)”

A Testing Time for All of Us

‘Tis another year of testing, and all through the landEv’ry creature is stirring, it’s quite out of hand;The mockings they’re flung with nary a care,Of whether they’re valid, or whether they’re fair. The children, mere pawns in this high-stakes game;Are still not Proficient, the tests are to blame.They take too much time, they cost tooContinue reading “A Testing Time for All of Us”

Yes, Virginia

VIRGINIA, your friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see on cable news and read on social media platforms. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by our little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether in red states or inContinue reading “Yes, Virginia”

Maybe It’s Time for a Diorama

Back in my youth, when it was fashionable, if insensitive, to celebrate Christmas unabashedly in public elementary schools, a good part of the curriculum and instruction after Thanksgiving was devoted to holiday activities. There was practicing for the Christmas “pageant” (music), making a Christmas ornament or a gift for Mom (art), and Christmas-themed writing, spelling,Continue reading “Maybe It’s Time for a Diorama”

Know Thyself

To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom – Socrates Identity. That’s the first word that comes to mind when I think about the state of educational measurement and assessment in 2021. On so many levels, our field, and the individuals within it, are in search of an identity. Derek Briggs, our nominal and effectiveContinue reading “Know Thyself”

Best In Show

If you are like me – and it occurs to me that this may be the first time I have ever typed that phrase – your total exposure to dog shows consists of watching the National Dog Show that immediately follows the annual appearance of Santa at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on NBC (and perhapsContinue reading “Best In Show”

Give Thanks for Little Knowledge

Back in college, we had a visiting professor for one of the final courses I took as a music major. He didn’t think much of us, and we viewed him as the epitome of the adage those who can’t but want others to think they can, sit comfortably within the university pointing out what everyoneContinue reading “Give Thanks for Little Knowledge”

Vive La Variance!

To educate is to change. Instruction and learning are about change. Educational measurement is defined by variance. Literally. The fundamental concepts in the field are expressed in terms of variance. One of the first techniques that we learn as eager young graduate students is analysis of variance. Without variance, our lives as psychometricians, much likeContinue reading “Vive La Variance!”