Theories of Action Aren’t Enough: An Argument for Logic Models
A Practical Application of the Need to Fill the Gap Between Theories of Action and the Implementation and Evaluation of a New Program or System If you’ve ever worked with […]
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In Search of Simple Solutions for the NAEP Results
Simple Explanations and Solutions are Appealing, but Insufficient to Affect the Changes Needed to Move NAEP Results The 2019 NAEP results (National Assessment of Educational Progress) were released last week […]
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Matching Instructional Uses with Interim Assessment Designs
The Importance of Ensuring that an Assessment is Designed to Support its Intended Uses Assessments are the most powerful and useful when designed intentionally for particular purposes – especially when […]
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Balancing Skepticism and Utility in Machine Scoring
Understanding How Machine Scoring Can Be Used Now, and What We Need to Do to Expand Its Usefulness for the Future Without a doubt, the public is skeptical about using […]
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Understanding Nominal and Effective Weights in School Accountability Systems
Weights Assigned to Indicators May Not Reflect Their Actual Contribution to Final Scores States give a lot of weight to the weights given to the indicators in their accountability systems. […]
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A Matter of Indifference
Current Assessments May Require New Equating Methods and Procedures to Ensure Results Will be Comparable Across Test Forms One of the fundamental tenets of equating two tests is that it […]
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Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes…Turn and Face the Strange World of Assessment
A Framework to Help State Assessment Teams Deal Effectively With Change Heraclitus of Ephesus said that “The only thing that is constant is change.” This observation certainly applies to K-12 […]
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Re-Envisioning Performance Standards Validation
Taking a Principled Approach to Evaluating Reporting Scales and Performance Standards When Modifications Are Made to Assessments For a variety of reasons—political, psychometric and practical—states are often required to modify […]
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Alignment Turns 25 This Year–So Now We Ask, What Are its Prospects?
The Road From Defining and Measuring Alignment to Effectively Using it in the Design of Assessments and Assessment Systems Alignment turns 25 this year. Happy Birthday, Alignment! Alignment burst onto […]
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How Did “On Track” Get So “Off Track”?
Colloquial Language Is More Familiar, But Can be More Easily Misinterpreted When Reporting Test Results With the proliferation of large-scale state summative assessments and published results, one could say that […]
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The Burden of Proof: A Call for Validation Plans and Evidence in Educational Programs
Why Evaluation of Educational System Designs is Critical to Measuring Effectiveness and Results Educational policy makers, program designers, and intervention developers typically identify a problem and propose a solution to […]
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How Much Is Enough?
Sufficiency Considerations for Competency-Based Assessment Systems Many schools have turned to competency-based education for meeting both equity and excellence goals. Competency-based education requires students to demonstrate mastery of key knowledge […]
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When It Comes to School Ratings, Meaning Matters
What’s in a Grade, Anyway? Letter grades are a popular way to describe performance. I’m referring to those same letter grades you received in school: A to F. We all […]
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