Will testing irregularities knock the wind out of Chicago’s sails?
By Dale Chu In 2017, an analysis by Stanford researchers appeared to show students in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) learning faster than almost every other school system in the country. The data was so compelling, it defied conventional wisdom about the relationship between wealth and educational attainment. Not surprisingly, CPS officials have taken great pride […]
Another testing straw man bites the dust
By Dale Chu The tried-and-true playbook used by anti-testing advocates is a raggedy, dog-eared one. From test anxiety to student stress, the straw men trotted out in service of eliminating standardized tests are heavy on anecdotes, but light on evidence. Perhaps the most popular example is the oft-repeated yet oft-unchecked claim that the modern testing […]
Burying the lede on analyzing assessment data
By Dale Chu A provocatively titled Education Week opinion piece—“Does Studying Student Data Really Raise Test Scores?”—generated some buzz this month thanks to Betteridge’s law of headlines. For those who are unfamiliar, the tongue in cheek law states, “Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no“. As such, […]
A test of resolve: A conversation with NewMexicoKidsCAN’s Amanda Aragon
By Dale Chu Amanda Aragon is the Executive Director of NewMexicoKidsCAN, a New Mexico-based policy and advocacy organization. Last summer, they released a report called A Test of Resolve: Reinforcing High Expectations & Student Progress in New Mexico, which analyzed the impressive gains New Mexico students have made since the state implemented a more rigorous […]
Formative assessments results are no slam-dunk
By Dale Chu By all accounts, Saturday’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest was a dizzying display of gravity-defying athleticism. Even for the uninitiated, it was hard not to appreciate the performances brought to bear by the aerial artists who competed. Because the scoring for an event like this requires some degree of subjectivity, controversy can often […]
Putting the testing cart before the standards horse
By Dale Chu In what was hopefully the last major skirmish involving the Common Core State Standards (what year are we in?), Florida just announced recommendations for revisions to their state standards following a yearlong review initiated at the governor’s direction. The new standards are now public, but the playbook followed by the Sunshine State […]
On testing, Andrew Yang’s math doesn’t add up
By Dale Chu Presidential candidate Andrew Yang has worn many hats. The one that simply reads “MATH” gets the most attention, but his role and what he learned as the former CEO of a test prep company merits further scrutiny from education advocates now that he’s earned a spot on New Hampshire’s debate stage. In […]
Major improvements in middle school math
By Dale Chu One of the most complete and accurate sources for state proficiency trend data is right here at Assessment HQ. Our Explore State Data tool allows readers to explore data trends in 32 states where four years of comparable data is available. (Additional data will be added soon.) Using the tool, we can […]
What the NPP (Yeah, you know me!) might mean for states
By Dale Chu Recently, the U.S. Department of Education published a notice of proposed priorities (NPP) for the Competitive Grants for State Assessments (CGSA) program. In and of itself, the announcement of grantmaking priorities is unexceptional. The Department typically does this each time it administers a grant competition under the program. However, previous priorities have […]
A shot in the arm for innovative assessments
By Dale Chu Perhaps concerned by the dearth of takers on the flexibility afforded under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to pilot innovative assessments, the U.S. Department of Education just released a proposed rule related to the Competitive Grants for State Assessments (CGSA) program. With this step, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is ostensibly […]