Scott Marion partners with Associate Director Chris Domaleski to manage the operations of the Center, and he works closely with the Center Board of Directors to establish the long- and short-term strategic direction of the organization. He is also actively engaged with Center clients; his projects include designing and supporting states in implementing assessment and accountability reforms, developing and implementing educator evaluation systems, and designing and implementing high quality, locally-designed performance-based assessments. He is a national leader in designing innovative and comprehensive assessment systems to support instructional and accountability uses, including helping states and districts design systems of assessments for evaluating student learning of identified competencies.
Anti-racism School Disruption Educational Assessment Accountability Assessment
Scott Marion August 7, 2020
The Center’s Executive Director Scott Marion was asked recently to offer a short response to the question,“How can parents and policymakers know whether schools are making up for lost learning and addressing individual needs?” as part of a series on what it will take to reopen schools amid the pandemic sponsored by The Center on Reinventing Public Education, in partnership with T
School Disruption Educational Assessment Use of Assessment Results Assessment COVID-19 Response
Scott Marion July 30, 2020
Since mid-March, Center for Assessment associates and highly-respected guest authors have written multiple CenterLine posts and other papers addressing key aspects of assessment and accountability. We have been wrestling with this question since COVID-19 disrupted the 2019-2020 school year and forced the cancellation of spring 2020 state assessments: How can assessment best be used to support teachers and students during the 2020-2021 school year? Our ideas and advice over the past several months about assessment in 2020-2021 crystallized into the following key takeaways:
Scott Marion Ajit Gopalakrishnan July 24, 2020
State and district leaders are working hard to prepare for in-person schooling in 2020-2021 while also planning for hybrid models or, at worst, full remote learning should certain locales become overwhelmed by unsustainable increases in infections and hospitalizations.
Educational Assessment Diagnostic Assessment School Disruption COVID-19 Response Assessment Use of Assessment Results
Educators Need Clear Descriptions of the Intended Uses and Interpretations of Educational Assessments
Scott Marion June 3, 2020
Educational assessment has a naming problem and the latest example of it is the current rhetoric regarding wide-scale use of diagnostic assessment. This is likely true for other fields as well, but it is particularly rampant in education. When my colleagues, Marianne Perie and Brian Gong, and I first wrote about “interim assessment,” we conducted a search for the terms ‘formative, benchmark, predictive’ and several others.
School Disruption Deeper Learning Innovative Assessment Assessment COVID-19 Response
COVID-19 School Closures Provide an Opportunity to Think About and Assess Learning Differently
Scott Marion Mary Ann Snider April 23, 2020
Jal Mehta, author of In Search of Deeper Learning, was recently interviewed by Rick Hess about how to support deeper learning during the COVID-19 shutdown and remote learning.
Educational Assessment Educational Contracts School Disruption COVID-19 Response
Dealing Fairly with Assessment Contracts as Schools Cancel or Suspend Student Testing During the COVID-19 Crisis
Scott Marion Andy Middlestead March 20, 2020
As of this writing, more than 80% of U.S. K-12 students will be home from school for at least multiple weeks. More likely, many or most could be out for the rest of the school year. Therefore, many states have decided to call off or suspend student testing for the 2019-2020 school year – and the number of states following suit are doing so by the day.
School Improvement Educational Assessment Accountability Systems Assessment Accountability
Building a Better Theory of Action to Enhance the Utility of Assessment and Accountability Systems
Scott Marion Carla Evans March 3, 2020
How do schools improve? More importantly, how can school improvement be sustained over time and at scale?
Educational Assessment Accountability ESEA Innovation Assessment Innovative Assessment
Starting a Discussion on How Federal Policy Can Better Support Innovation to Increase Student Learning Opportunities
Scott Marion Chris Domaleski Chris Brandt February 6, 2020
Here at the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment, we think a lot about the multiple factors involved in promoting student learning through more meaningful state assessment and accountability systems. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the current authorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), is the most significant influence on contemporary state assessment and accountability. We believe a number of changes to ESEA could help promote innovation, restore balance, and improve outcomes.
Scott Marion January 7, 2020
The end of the decade signified the end of an era here at the Center for Assessment; Charlie DePascale officially retired on December 31, 2019, after more than 17 years as a Senior Associate.
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What Would it Take to Design an Assessment System Around a Goal of Improving Teachers’ Knowledge and Skills?
Scott Marion December 12, 2019
How would I design an assessment or assessment system if my goal was to improve teaching? My colleagues, Chris Domaleski and Leslie Keng, and I met recently with state assessment leaders who are thinking about reforming their assessment system.
