Assessment Blog

Assessing the Assessments

This blog was written by Madhabi Chatterji, an associate professor of measurement, evaluation, and education and director of the Assessment and Evaluation Research Initiative at Teachers College, Columbia University, and James Harvey, the executive director of the National Superintendents Roundtable and a doctoral student in educational leadership at Seattle University. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: assessment.

Assessment Opinion Back to the Future in International Assessments
Oren Pizmony-Levy of Teachers College, Columbia University reports that in the past two decades research-oriented rationale of international large-scale assessments was replaced by a more policy-oriented rationale, one that reinforces the "horse race" discourse.
Oren Pizmony-Levy, April 10, 2014
•
4 min read
Assessment Opinion Mimic the Classroom
Jeff Charbonneau of Zillah High School responds to Susan Fuhrman and calls for a system that looks at the entirety of the student experience. One that uses tests as a small fraction of the whole.
Jeff Charbonneau, April 8, 2014
•
3 min read
Assessment Opinion Varied Measures for Varied Purposes
Susan H. Fuhrman of Teachers College, Columbia University, recommends moving to a matrix sampling design for school accountability can provide good information on school progress without narrowing the curriculum.
Susan H. Fuhrman, April 7, 2014
•
4 min read
Assessment Opinion Duct Tape Won't Fix Formative Assessments
Steven Ladd of Elk Grove Schools, California responds to Neal Kingston and concludes: focus on test scores detracts attention from the serious underrepresentation of low-income populations in STEM and a growing gap in income and access.
Steven Ladd, April 4, 2014
•
3 min read
Assessment Opinion Honestly Prioritizing Assessment Design for Instruction
Neal Kingston of University of Kansas warns: No one test can serve multiple purposes equally well. We need to choose the most important goal for a testing program and focus on achieving it.
Neal Kingston, April 4, 2014
•
3 min read
Assessment Opinion K-12 Assessments Are More Art Than Science
Michael V. McGill of Scarsdale Public Schools, New York responds to Edmund W. Gordon and emphasizes: the "science" of measurement adds value to education only when it's applied in a spirit of humility and guided by sound human judgment.
Michael V. McGill, April 1, 2014
•
5 min read
Assessment Opinion Measurement Science Can Do More for Education!
Edmund W. Gordon of The Gordon Commission calls for assessment FOR education.
Edmund W. Gordon, March 31, 2014
•
5 min read
Assessment Opinion OECD: Poverty Explains 46% of PISA Scores
Paul B. Ash of Lexington Public Schools, Massachusetts responds to Iris C. Rotberg and warns that international exams may measure student knowledge and skills on an international basis, but they were not designed to measure the factors that contributed to student success within a nation.
Paul B. Ash, March 28, 2014
•
3 min read
Assessment Opinion International Scores Irrelevant to Economic Competitiveness
Iris C. Rotberg of The George Washington University cautions: international test-score comparisons have become a diversion that detracts attention from the factors that can make a difference in scientific innovation and competitiveness.
Iris C. Rotberg, March 27, 2014
•
4 min read
Assessment Opinion Have You Seen This Headline?
Carla Santorno of Tacoma Public Schools, Washington responds to Engel and Feuer and warns that looking at results of international large-scale assessment only from a competitive perspective does not tell the whole story.
Carla Santorno, March 25, 2014
•
4 min read
Assessment Opinion Five Myths About International Large-Scale Assessments
Laura C. Engel and Michael J. Feuer of The George Washington University debunk five prevailing myths about international large-scale assessments (ILSAs).
Laura Engel & Michael J. Feuer, March 23, 2014
•
5 min read
Assessment Opinion Assessing School Success Comprehensively
Joshua Starr of Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland responds to Eva L. Baker and identifies the "conditions for success" that are necessary in every school in order to drive increased student achievement.
Joshua P. Starr, March 21, 2014
•
3 min read
Assessment Opinion Can We Trust Assessment Results?
Eva L. Baker of UCLA asserts: assessment must be exceptionally transparent to those engaged in teaching and learning. Good transparency occurs when test content can be clearly summarized without giving away the specific questions.
Eva L. Baker, March 20, 2014
•
3 min read
Assessment Opinion Validity, Test Use, and Consequences: Pre-empting a Persistent Problem
Test use has consequences. What we need is more formal training, discussion, and cross-learning among key constituent groups to improve understandings of how common validity issues arise, with a view towards pre-empting unintended and adverse consequences in future.
Madhabi Chatterji, March 17, 2014
•
4 min read
Load More ▼