Measurement – Page 8 – Embrace the Absurd

Bring back valid tests

Charlie DePascale Those of us of a certain age can recall when it was acceptable to talk about valid tests. One could make the claim that a test was valid; or more often as a precocious graduate student, question whether a test was valid. Some version of the phrase a test is valid to theContinue reading “Bring back valid tests”

Implausible Values

Equating in the early part of the 21st century Charlie DePascale Our field is facing a crisis brought on by implausible values. The values which threaten us, however, are not the assessment results questioned above. Those are only the byproduct of the values which our field and society have adopted with regard to K-12 large-scaleContinue reading “Implausible Values”

The Physics of Psychometrics

Charlie DePascale A metaphysical tale of the past, present, and future relationship between psychometrics and educational assessment.

New Year’s Resolutions

Charlie DePascale “If the body be feeble, the mind will not be strong. The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all the exercises walking is best.” – Thomas Jefferson The third week of 2017 has come to an end, and my New Year’s Resolution to improve my fitness level is off toContinue reading “New Year’s Resolutions”

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”

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…”

Interval Scales, Unicorns, and Non-stick Pans

There are certain things that you hear about for the first time and with all your heart you want them to be real. Although your brain tells you to be skeptical, you desperately want those things to exist and to have the magical powers that people ascribe to them. For me, interval scales, unicorns, andContinue reading “Interval Scales, Unicorns, and Non-stick Pans”

Goals: Assets or Distractions

A noticeable difference between NCLB and ESSA is that ESSA is devoid of explicit goals. Yes, one could argue that “Every Student Succeeds” is a goal. I am still hedging my bet, however, on whether people will treat that tagline as a goal or as a policy statement, as in every student succeeds becomes theContinue reading “Goals: Assets or Distractions”

If a tree falls in the forest…

“…once upon a time, researchers simply published their research in professional journals – and there it stayed. However, my colleagues and I learned things we thought people needed to know.” The quote above from an EdWeek commentary is Carol Dweck’s explanation for why she published her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Likewise, asContinue reading “If a tree falls in the forest…”

Faith and Validity

Pondering validity on the occasion of Pope Francis’ visit to the United States From Kane back to Ebel , there are religious overtones, sometimes thinly veiled, to discussions of validity as the alpha and the omega of educational measurement. Without validity, there is no measurement. Validity was in the beginning, is now, and ever shallContinue reading “Faith and Validity”