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.
An Innovator's Hope
Scott Marion August 5, 2019
In my previous glass-half-empty post, I outlined my considerable reservations with the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) component of the Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA).
ESSA Educational Assessment Assessment systems
The Challenge in Trying to Be Innovative Under ESSA’s Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority
Scott Marion July 19, 2019
I was an early supporter and promoter of the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), but I now have serious doubts about the viability of the IADA and its ability to support deep and meaningful educational reform.
Assessment State Assessment Education Policy Accountability stability
Frequent Changes to State Assessment Systems Place Educational Improvement on Shaky Ground.
Scott Marion May 7, 2019
“We just administered our third assessment in the past five years.”
“That’s nothing; we’re on our fifth assessment in the past four years.”
I wish these were fictional statements, but as one of the coordinators of a working group of state assessment leaders, I regularly hear stories like these from many of our 40+ state participants.
Center Staff and Interns Will Address Key Issues in Assessment and Accountability
Scott Marion Chris Domaleski Brian Gong Nathan Dadey April 4, 2019
While Center staff and 2018 summer interns share their work at the NCME conference, planning is well underway for our 2019 summer internship program. This summer, the Center will welcome six advanced doctoral students who will work with the Center’s professionals on projects with direct implications for state and national educational policy. Each intern will work with a Center mentor on one major project throughout the summer.
Innovative Assessment Assessment Assessment for Learning Instructioinal Utility Interim Assessment Utility
A Look at Fulfilling Hopes for Innovative Assessments and Instructional Utility
Scott Marion March 21, 2019
It may sound innovative to claim that commercial interim assessments support instruction, but simply saying it doesn’t make it so.
Shifting From an Accountability to an Instructional Mindset for Teacher Evaluation
Scott Marion February 21, 2019
I was recently invited by Future Focused Education to share my thoughts on teacher evaluation for their blog. I contributed two posts about the insurmountable challenges of state-mandated teacher evaluation and the promise of coherent locally-based support and evaluation systems.
Highlights from 2018 at the Center for Assessment and Setting the Stage for 2019 and Beyond
Scott Marion December 28, 2018
The Center for Assessment celebrated its 20th anniversary in September with many long-time friends, and the celebration was highlighted by our 20th Reidy Interactive Lecture Series (RILS) where Center professionals reflected on the past and offered a vision for the future.
Moving Toward a Research-based Approach for Improving Assessment Literacy
Scott Marion November 16, 2018
“Train-the-trainers” is commonly employed as an approach for attempting to spread new learning from individuals who attended a professional development experience to others who did not attend. Unfortunately, this model often works like the children’s game of “telephone”, where the message is mangled by the time it gets around the circle. I am struck that “train-the-trainers” continues to be so popular with so little evidence that it works to improve the implementation of complex knowledge and skills.
Reflections on the Center’s Efforts to Improve Educational Assessment and Accountability
Scott Marion October 3, 2018
Note: The following remarks were delivered by Center for Assessment Executive Director Scott Marion at the Center’s 20th Anniversary Dinner on Sept. 26, 2018.
I’m thrilled to be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment with so many people who have been so important to the Center and its success over the years. Isaac Newton once quipped, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Those of us working at the Center feel this way all the time.
The Center at 20: Leveraging the lessons of the past to improve the impact of assessment and accountability practices
Scott Marion September 19, 2018
Much like the last 20 years, the 10 weeks since our first CenterLine post announcing the 2018 Reidy Interactive Lecture Series (RILS) have gone by in a blur. In just a few days, the Center team will gather with educators, policy makers, assessment specialists, and researchers, old friends and new friends, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for the 20th annual RILS conference.
