The Center at 20: Leveraging the lessons of the past to improve the impact of assessment and accountability practices

September 27th – 28th, 2018
Portsmouth Harbor Events and Conference Center
100 Deer Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801

Conference Overview

In recent years, assessment and accountability have become charged terms to many. How did we get to this point and what can be done? How do we make good on the Center’s mission to improve student learning through more meaningful assessment and accountability practices. There's no doubt that we have learned a lot over the past 20 years about designing and implementing high quality assessment and accountability systems. However, as a field, we must do more to develop the perceived and real utility of these systems to improve outcomes for all students.

The 2018 RILS program will focus on supporting the Center’s mission to leverage assessment and accountability as part of efforts to increase student learning. In particular, we will identify strategies to design and implement systems that promote equity, defined as improving outcomes for student who are traditionally underserved. We will reflect on but not be constrained by prior practices. Our hope is to understand the pitfalls, build on the best ideas, and identify new directions to realize the promise of assessment and accountability as key pieces in an overall strategy to improve student achievement.

Agenda

Thursday, September 27th

8:00	Breakfast
8:30	Welcome and Introduction to RILS at 20 Scott Marion, Executive Director, Center for Assessment
8:50	Opening Address: What have we learned? Charlie DePascale, Senior Associate, Center for Assessment
9:10	Overview of Barriers to Assessment System Implementation and Introduction to Concurrent Sessions Joseph Martineau, Senior Associate, Center for Assessment A Tricky Balance: The Challenges and Opportunities of Balanced Systems of Assessment
9:25	Transition to Concurrent Session #1
9:30	Concurrent Session #1 A. The politics and policy of assessment system design Scott Marion, Executive Director, Center for Assessment B. Challenges of assessment literacy Carla Evans, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Assessment Assessment Literacy PowerPoint Assessment Literacy Handout C. The commercialization, proliferation, and incoherence of assessments Joseph Martineau, Senior Associate, Center for Assessment
9:50	Transition to Concurrent Session #2
9:55	Concurrent Session #2 A. On being specific: identifying uses and developing systems to match Nathan Dadey, Associate & Joseph Martineau, Senior Associate, Center for Assessment B. Curriculum and balanced assessment systems Jeri Thompson, Senior Associate, Center for Assessment C. Challenges of assessment literacy Carla Evans, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Assessment Assessment Literacy PowerPoint Assessment Literacy Handout
10:15	Transition to Concurrent Session #3
10:20	Concurrent Session #3 A. On Modular Assessments within a Balanced Assessment System Nathan Dadey, Associate, Center for Assessment B. The politics and policy of assessment system design Scott Marion, Executive Director, Center for Assessment C. Curriculum and Balanced Assessment Systems Jeri Thompson, Senior Associate, Center for Assessment
10:40	Transition to Full Group
10:45	Moving Toward a Research and Practice Agenda for Balanced Assessment Systems Scott Marion, Executive Director, Center for Assessment
11:00	Panel discussion Lorrie Shepard, Distinguished Professor, University of Colorado-Boulder Andy Middlestead, State Director of Assessment, Michigan Department of Education Paul Freeman, Superintendent of Schools, Guilford, CT.
Noon	Lunch
1:00	Accountability: An unfulfilled promise? Damian Betebenner, Senior Associate, Center for Assessment
1:15	Promoting More Effective Accountability Systems Chris Domaleski, Associate Director, Center for Assessment Coherent and Balanced Accountability Design
1:45	Response Scott Norton, Deputy Director of Programs, Council of Chief State School Officers
2:00	Ideas in Action: Conversations with Innovators Susan Lyons, Associate, Center for Assessment Jack Schneider, Assistant Professor, Holy Cross University and Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment Janet Wilson, Associate Superintendent, Office of Shared Accountability, Montgomery County Public Schools Jeffrey Broom, Director of School Quality Measurement and Research, Chicago Public Schools Elliott Asp, Senior Partner, Colorado Education Initiative
3:00	Break
3:15	Group Discussions
4:30	Closing Comments Erika Landl, Senior Associate, Center for Assessment
4:45	Adjourn Day 1
5:30	Evening reception

Friday, September 28th

8:00	Breakfast
8:30	Introduction to Validation Sessions Brian Gong, Senior Associate, Center for Assessment
8:40	Validation through System Coherence: Designing for Coherence: ESSA, Perkins, and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Erika Landl, Senior Associate, Center for Assessment System Coherence ESSA and Perkins
	Discussant Peter McWalters, Former Commissioner of Education, Rhode Island Department of Education
9:05	Validation of ESSA Accountability Systems Juan D’Brot, Senior Associate, Center for Assessment
	Discussant Peg Goertz, Professor emeritus University of Pennsylvania and co-director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE)
9:30	Validation in the Midst of Change: A framework for evaluating and supporting comparability across assessment programs Leslie Keng, Senior Associate, Center for Assessment
	Discussant Lauress Wise, Principal Scientist, Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO)
9:55	Break and transition to small groups
10:10	Small Group Discussions Invited Expert Respondents: Carey Wright, State Superintendent of Education, Mississippi Department of Education Rae Clementz, Principal Consultant, Illinois Board of Education
11:00	Transition to large group
11:05	Validation Sessions: Discussant Closing Comments Brian Gong, Senior Associate, Center for Assessment Peter McWalters, Former Commissioner of Education, Rhode Island Department of Education Peg Goertz, Professor emeritus University of Pennsylvania and co-director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) Lauress Wise, Principal Scientist, Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO)
11:45	Wrap-Up/Concluding Thoughts Chris Domaleski, Associate Director, Center for Assessment
Noon	Lunch
1:00	Adjourn

2018 Reidy Interactive Lecture Series

Conference Overview

Agenda

Thursday, September 27th

Friday, September 28th