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 This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: assessment.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
Morality, Validity, and the Design of Instructionally Sensitive Tests
David C. Berliner of Arizona State University emphasizes that teachers, as it turns out, affect individuals a lot more than they affect aggregate test scores.
Assessment
Opinion
Correcting a Harmful Misuse of 69传媒' Test Scores
W. James Popham of University of California at Los Angeles concludes: The higher the stakes associated with the use of an educational test's results, the greater should be the scrutiny given to both the accuracy of score-based interpretations and to the appropriate usage of the test's results.
Education
Opinion
Are Instructionally Sensitive Tests Better for Evaluating Teachers and 69传媒?
A final call to all education assessment enthusiasts. Blogs by David Berliner and Jim Popham are forthcoming in the week of June 2.
Assessment
Opinion
Formative Classroom Assessment and Assessment For Accountability: Finding a Balance
In this final blog, Madhabi Chatterji of Teachers College, Columbia University responds to three queries with some closing thoughts and takeaways on the "Assessing the Assessments" blog.
Assessment
Opinion
Are Fourth Graders Who Don't Test Like Seventh Graders Really Failures?
James Harvey of the National Superintendents Roundtable wraps up this month-long conversation between measurement experts and educators on the front line by answering some questions about unresolved issues. Read his final thoughts and "takeaways" from Assessing the Assessments.
Assessment
Opinion
On Assessment: Less Is More
Richard Noonan of Wallingford-Swarthmore School District, Pennsylvania, responds to William Schmidt and reiterates that the content, structure, and emphasis of PISA and TIMSS do not reveal the same things, and certainly should not lead us to the same conclusions.
Assessment
Opinion
What do PISA and TIMSS Tell Us?
William Schmidt of Michigan State University concludes: U.S. performance on international large scale assessments cannot be attributed solely to the number or distribution of poor and disadvantaged students.
Assessment
Opinion
Formative Assessment in the Real World
Kelley M. Kalinich of Kenilworth School District No. 38, Illinois, responds to Deanna Iceman Sands and states that assessment should be an on-going and fluid process that connects to the work our teachers do in the classroom every day to result in quality learning for our students.
Assessment
Opinion
Let's Expand What Formative Assessment Means
Deanna Iceman Sands of Seattle University describes how formative assessment is conceptualized and how its conceptualization promotes self-directed learning for students as they engage in goal setting, self-assessment, self-monitoring, and self-regulation of their learning strategies.
Assessment
Opinion
Memo to Washington: 'Physician, Heal Thyself!'
Theresa Rouse of King City Union School District, California responds to James W. Pellegrino and uses the analogy of a three-legged stool to explain the three major components of education reform: standards, assessment, and accountability.
Assessment
Opinion
Learning From the Reform Mistakes of the Past
James W. Pellegrino of University of Illinois at Chicago suggests that the assessment system should be built from the bottom up or inside out - starting with the classroom level and working towards the monitoring level -- just the REVERSE of what we have done with Common Core ELA and Math.
Assessment
Opinion
Wasting the Lessons of Assessment History
Mort Sherman of American Association of School Administrators responds to Henry Braun and suggests life beyond the efficiently scored tests that we are so dependent on. Particularly, he calls for a closer look at students' dispositions such as persistence, self regulation, and self evaluation.
Assessment
Opinion
Merits of International Assessments
Henry Braun of Boston College concludes that the rich data generated by international large-scale assessments, in conjunction with other relevant evidence, provide unique insights that can challenge unmerited complacency and establish worthy benchmarks for educators and policymakers to aim for.
Assessment
Opinion
Catnip for Politicians: International Assessments
The horse-race mentality dominates the conversation about international large scale assessments (ILSAs). However, the assessment design of ILSAs is simply incomprehensible to the lay audience. It's time to start a conversation among the measurement experts, politicians, and the educators.