You Can Get the Accountability System You Want (Part 2)
States complain that ESSA bars them from getting the accountability systems they really want. We present three examples of systems that show otherwise.
Read MoreTag: Peer review
Peer Review: Can Emerging Programs Meet the Requirements?
Through-year and other novel test designs face challenges in peer review. Three changes by the U.S. Department of Education could improve the process.
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Do We Really Need to Test All Students Every Year?
We can reduce testing in schools without sacrificing meaningful annual reports on students’ learning.
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Can We Reduce Testing in K-12 Schools?
State testing has long been criticized for many reasons. We undertook a study to examine what tradeoffs might be necessary to reduce the footprint of state testing. Here’s a preview of our early findings.
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Federal Innovative Assessment Pilot: Now Open to All States
In a bid to jump-start the program, USED expands the IADA. Nearly $22 million is potentially available to support work on new state assessments.
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School Accountability Is Broken
It’s time to create school accountability systems that recognize the unique roles and responsibilities of states, districts and schools.
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Perfect Test Comparability Is a Sign of Failure
The federal innovative assessment pilot has hobbled the testing improvements it aimed to promote. We can change that by rethinking test comparability.
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What Happens to Performance Assessment If We Use It for Accountability?
Those who promote using performance assessment for accountability may want to stop and consider exactly what they want to argue for.
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Advancing Contemporary Validity Theory and Practice
Based on Remarks Given During a Town Hall Session at the 2022 NCME Conference I was honored to participate in a validity “town hall” at last week’s NCME conference with […]
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Following Their Lead: Conversations About Innovative Assessment
Discussions with State Leaders Approved to Implement Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority Pilots Five states have been approved to implement innovative assessment pilots as part of the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) under […]
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Spring 2021 Conference Season: The Sequel
Center Participation at the NCME and CCSSO NCSA Virtual Conferences We welcomed the Spring 2021 conference season with Center participation in national and regional virtual education conferences that occurred virtually in April. […]
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A Framework to Support States in the Selection, Documentation, and Use of Test Accommodations
This is the fourth in a series of posts by our 2020 summer interns and their mentors based on their project and the assessment and accountability issues they addressed this summer. Maura O’Riordan, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, worked with Chris Domaleski to develop guidance to help states better understand the impact of assessment accommodations on the meaning and interpretation of test scores.
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Summative State Assessments Can Wait!
Arguments Against Administering the Spring 2020 Summative State Assessments When Students Go Back to School All states closed their schools in March and suspended or canceled annual state assessments. While […]
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Making the Most of the Summative State Assessment
How We Can Generate Actionable Student-Level Information from the Summative State Assessment While Honoring Their Design This post is based on an invited presentation Charlie DePascale made at the nineteenth […]
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An Education Innovator’s Dilemma
The Challenge in Trying to Be Innovative Under ESSA’s Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority I was an early supporter and promoter of the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), […]
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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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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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