Scott Marion, Ph.D., is the president and executive director of the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment. He is a national leader in conceptualizing and designing innovative and balanced assessment systems to support instructional and other critical uses. He has also led extensive work across the country to design and implement school accountability systems. His current projects include designing—and supporting states in implementing—assessment and accountability initiatives, providing technically defensible policy guidance, and implementing high-quality, locally designed performance-based assessments.

Scott was recently elected to the National Academy of Education and is one of three measurement specialists on the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress. He coordinates and/or serves on 10 state or district technical advisory committees for assessment and accountability. He has served on multiple National Research Council committees, including those that provided guidance for next-generation science assessments, investigated the issues and challenges of incorporating value-added measures in educational accountability systems, and outlined best practices in state assessment systems.

Scott is a co-author of the forthcoming validity chapter in the 5th edition of Educational Measurement and is the co-chair of a National Academy of Education panel writing a volume on balanced systems of assessment. He has published dozens of articles in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, and he regularly presents his work at the national conferences of the American Educational Research Association, National Council on Measurement in Education, and the Council of Chief State School Officers. In addition, Scott served his community for nine years as a member of the Rye, N.H. School Board.

Scott earned a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder with a concentration in measurement and evaluation.

Recent Publications

Marion, S.F. (2023). Validity arguments for through-year assessments. In Tierney, R.J., Rizvi, F., and Erkican, K. (Eds.). International Encyclopedia of Education (4th Edition), pp. 212-219. London: Elsevier Press.

Braun, H. & Marion, S. F. (2022). Accountability and assessment in U.S. education: Let’s not let another crisis go to waste! Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice.

Marion, S., Domaleski, C., & Brandt, W.C (2020). Assessment and accountability recommendations for the next reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Marion, S. (2020, October). Opportunity-to-learn data to support a more equitable education system.

Keng, L., Boyer, M., & Marion, S.F. (2020). Into the unknown: Assessment considerations for spring 2021. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 39, 3, 53-59.

Keng, L. & Marion, S. F. (2020). Comparability of aggregated group scores on the “same test.” In Haertel, Pellegrino, & Berman (eds.). Comparability Issues in Large-Scale Assessment. Washington, DC: National Academy of Education.

Shepard, L. A., Diaz-Bilello, E., Penuel, W. R., & Marion, S. F. (2020). Classroom assessment principles to support teaching and learning. Boulder, CO: Center for Assessment, Design, Research and Evaluation, University of Colorado Boulder.

Marion, S.F. & Domaleski, C. (2019). An argument in search of evidence: A response to Camara, et al. (2019). Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 38, 4, 27–28.

Marion, S., Thompson, J., Evans, C., Martineau, J. & Dadey, N. (2019) A tricky balance: The challenges and opportunities of balanced systems of assessment. [Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education Toronto, Ontario, April 6, 2019]

Marion, S.F. (2018). The opportunities and challenges of a systems approach to assessment. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 37, 1, 45-48.

Blog Posts Authored by Scott Marion

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The SOAR Scholars Take Flight

The Strengthening Opportunities in Assessment and Research program enables SOAR scholars to pursue careers in measurement and psychometrics.

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