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.
Center Updates Assessment Accountability
Center Participation at the NCME and CCSSO NCSA Virtual Conferences
Scott Marion Chris Domaleski June 3, 2021
We welcomed the Spring 2021 conference season with Center participation in national and regional conferences that occurred virtually in April.
Balanced Assessment Educational Assessment Theory of Assessment Assessment
The Challenges of Creating Balanced Assessment Systems
Scott Marion April 29, 2021
“…a collection of assessments does not entail a system any more than a pile of bricks entails a house.” Coladarci (2002)
COVID-19 school disruptions Assessment Literacy CBE Innovative Assessment Center Updates Assessment
Conference Season is a Welcome Break from the Long Winter
Scott Marion Chris Domaleski April 6, 2021
The arrival of spring brings with it the spring 2021 conference season – another sign that we may be moving out of the extended COVID-19 winter. Among the first events canceled last spring, annual educational research and testing conferences are returning this spring, albeit with virtual formats. Center professionals welcome these opportunities to share our work with the broader academic and practice communities and to learn about the latest thinking and research that will shape our future.
Assessment Reform Educational Assessment Accountability Assessment Education Policy
Advocating for Changes to Federal Accountability Requirements to Enable Innovative Assessment
Scott Marion January 26, 2021
Many of us at the Center for Assessment have led assessment reform for decades, including such noteworthy programs as the Kentucky writing and math portfolios, Wyoming’s Body of Evidence System, and Rhode Island’s Proficiency-Based Graduation Requirements. Most recently, we have supported several state leaders in gaining approval for the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to design assessment systems that elevate teaching and learning.
grading score scales student engagement school disruptions
What We Can Learn About Both Student Engagement and Grading Systems from Current Failure Rates
Scott Marion January 13, 2021
EducationWeek recently printed a terrific summary by Stephen Sawchuk about the number of students receiving failing grades this year. He asks, “Should schools be giving so many failing grades this year?” The answer is most likely no. The article reveals many current issues with grading but also exposes several of the long-standing problems with grades and grading practices.
Educational Assessment Remote Testing comparability school disruptions Assessment COVID-19 Response
Acknowledging the Lack of Evidence that Remote Testing Can Measure Up to In-Person Testing
Scott Marion January 5, 2021
A recent article in Forbes Magazine by Jim Cowen painted an irresponsibly rosy picture of remote test administration. The two organizations that coordinated the interviews on which the article was based, The Collaborative for Student Success and EducationCounsel, have been unabashed in their advocacy for returning to state summative testing in spring 2021.
Accountability Educational Assessment COVID-19 Response 2020 Assessment
Looking Back so We Can Look Forward: Assessment and Accountability Challenges During a Pandemic
Scott Marion December 23, 2020
Most people want to close the door on 2020 as quickly as possible. This year was hard and sad for so many people. My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones and/or were victims of a collapsing economy. I also recognize just how hard everyone in education from the classroom to the statehouse—including and especially parents—had to work this year, something I witnessed up close as a school board member. It was like a game of three-dimensional chess being played on ball bearings.
Scott Marion September 9, 2020
When Mary Ann Snider and I wrote in late April, “We can seize this opportunity to create assessment experiences that require students to think deeply and to demonstrate that deep thinking,” we were not thinking that students would be engaged in remote learning again this school year.
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:
