Testing 1-2-3
Welcome to Testing 1-2-3
A blog on state practices around annual assessments by former educator and policy expert Dale Chu! Dale writes about K-12 academic assessments and makes sense of the data, facts, and myths about them. Annual statewide tests provide actionable data on student learning to help inform instruction, continue recovery, and strategically allocate resources, ensuring they are targeted to the students most in need. They are just one component of a state’s assessment system and have their own unique role.
Meet Dale
Dale’s career includes two decades of work in P-12, serving as teacher, lead teacher, assistant principal, principal, and consultant in both rural and urban districts. He began his career in education as a Teach For America corps member in San Benito, Texas, located in the Rio Grande Valley along the U.S.-Mexico border. During his second year of teaching, Dale was recognized as the district’s teacher of the year.
He later became the founding principal at a high-performing urban charter school. In three years, Dale took the school from a 26 percent to a 96 percent pass rate as measured by the state’s assessment. His school was recognized for achieving the highest African American student performance scores in the state.
Dale is a graduate of Cornell University and earned a Masters degree in administration and policy analysis from Stanford University. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, and resides in Denver, Colorado, with his wife and daughter.
Connect with Assessment HQ and Dale on Twitter!
Commentary
15 Sep 2025
Texas pushes school boards to act on early learning data
By Dale Chu Texas is taking a bold step to keep its youngest students from falling behind. As part of its new spending package, local superintendents must report K–3 reading and math assessment results to their school boards and make....