Life – Embrace the Absurd

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”

To Dreaming Things That Never Were

“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’” – George Bernard Shaw The quote above is from Shaw’s play, or collection of plays, Back to Methuselah. I’ve read that the full play covers the time period from Adam and Eve in theContinue reading “To Dreaming Things That Never Were”

“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””

NCME & Me

As I read the tweets and posts from the NCME community assembled in Chicago this week, I find myself back here in Maine reminiscing about my five conference trips to Chicago since 1991. There are the memories of discovering deep dish pizza, walking in fascination along the wall of stones (fragments of history) at theContinue reading “NCME & Me”

For Everything There is a Season

Opening Day! Baseball may have long since lost its revered position as the national pastime, but still nothing compares to Opening Day of the baseball season – even when it occurs in March, which as any baseball fan knows it never, ever should, but we’ll save that rant for another day, because… It’s Opening Day!Continue reading “For Everything There is a Season”

Education is a Matter of the Heart

On January 31st, we celebrate the feast day of St. John Bosco, whose words, Remember, Education is a Matter of the Heart, are a credo of educators around the world. Don Bosco, as he was known, was a nineteenth century Italian priest who dedicated his life to the education of young people, particularly those living in poverty.Continue reading “Education is a Matter of the Heart”

Ars Gratia Artis

I took five years of Latin at Boston Latin School. I was a music major at Harvard with a focus on the history of Renaissance music. I chose to pursue a career in state testing. I offer these experiences as evidence that I am uniquely qualified to address questions such as “What is the valueContinue reading “Ars Gratia Artis”

Gender – Our Achilles Heel

For as long as I can remember, gender has been a sore spot in large-scale assessment. Often overshadowed in the media and federal regulations by race and ethnicity, it is a difference in test results by gender that can cause the most trouble for those of us in testing. The problem, you see, is thatContinue reading “Gender – Our Achilles Heel”

Do Re Mi-ting Expectations

Let’s start at the very beginningA very good place to startWhen you read, you begin with A-B-CWhen you sing, you begin with Do-Re-Mi When you report state test results, you begin with … What do you begin with when reporting state test results? I know that testing begins with hopes, dreams, and aspirations (pernicious orContinue reading “Do Re Mi-ting Expectations”

That Ragged Old Item

Each year they arrive ready to change the game Developers and psychometricians with freshly minted degrees As eager to disrupt as we were eager to please. So, I wasn’t surprised when the bold one exclaimed with disdain, I remember that sandwich cut into six slices! Students deserve better items, no wonder we’re in crisis! IContinue reading “That Ragged Old Item”