Life – Page 7 – Embrace the Absurd

10,000 Hours

The so-called “Ten-Thousand Hour Rule” became popularized after the 2008 publication of Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success. By popularized, of course, I mean that the discussion of the relationship between success and 10,000 hours of preparation presented by Gladwell was simplified and bastardized so that it could be deliberately misapplied when presented toContinue reading “10,000 Hours”

July 4th – A Day to Take Stock

Growing up in Boston – the cradle of liberty, the birthplace of the American Revolution – the meaning of The Fourth of July was crystal clear. It was a day of celebration and remembrance, yes; but also, a day with an eye toward the future, a day to take stock of the three things mostContinue reading “July 4th – A Day to Take Stock”

Look to Your Left

The BLS Class of ’77 – By the Numbers Forty-five years ago this week, I walked across the stage at Hynes Auditorium in Boston, one of 226 graduates of the Boston Latin School Class of 1977. It was the culmination of a six-year odyssey. Our class looked a lot different than it did when weContinue reading “Look to Your Left”

Don’t Be Constrained by Constraints

We all know that large scale state testing is bound by constraints. Some might go so far as to argue that state testing is defined by these constraints. Time, cost, security, well-intentioned but ill-conceived federal regulations, and outdated peer review expectations all tightly shape the who, what, when, where, why, and how of state testing.Continue reading “Don’t Be Constrained by Constraints”

The Ernie Scale

Based on a true story In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Rich Hill and Stuart Kahl led their little company that could, Advanced Systems, in reimagining, reinventing, and reshaping large-scale state testing. We were a ragtag band of young idealists who didn’t know any better. Our successes and failures were spectacular. Little that weContinue reading “The Ernie Scale”

To Ron, With Love

How do you thank someone who was a constant presence in your career in large-scale testing from its very beginning in 1989 all the way through to 2018 when a conversation with him helped you realize it was time to move on to a new phase of your life? Where do I begin to tellContinue reading “To Ron, With Love”

Matrix Sampling: Resurrected

It is impossible to read an article or hear a presentation about the future of large-scale state testing without some discussion of matrix sampling. If your primary concerns about large-scale testing are time and cost, the answer is matrix sampling. If your primary concern is coverage of comprehensive and complex standards like the Next GenerationContinue reading “Matrix Sampling: Resurrected”

You Can Go Home Again

Last week, I attended my very first NEERO conference. Seems a strange thing to say about a conference I have gone to 31 times since April 1989 when I made that very same drive over the Piscataqua River Bridge on I-95 from Maine to New Hampshire, took Exit 7 near the bottom of the bridge,Continue reading “You Can Go Home Again”

Policymakers Dig the Long Ball

Opening Day! On Opening Day 2021, I attempted to embody the spirit, if not the skill, of A. Bartlett Giamatti and engage in the real pastime of the true baseball fan, to wax poetic about baseball as the perfect metaphor for life. In that post, I recounted the central position that baseball, in all of itsContinue reading “Policymakers Dig the Long Ball”

Throwing A Wrench Into State Testing

For more than two decades now it has sat here on the corner of my desk. A rusty, humbling reminder that some aspects of this thing that we call large-scale testing are simply beyond our ken. There are those times when we know we’ve done everything right, followed all the rules, operationalized best practices, andContinue reading “Throwing A Wrench Into State Testing”