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 […]
Don’t make testing into a scapegoat
By Dale Chu Last month, a Harvard professor—an acclaimed policy expert on assessment and testing—wrote an op-ed piece for NBC News laying the blame for poor student academic performance squarely on the doorstep of standardized tests. Since the advent of test-based accountability, dozens of studies across multiple decades have shown how tests can positively affect […]
Is Biden backpedaling on testing?
By Dale Chu You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the 2020 presidential field—on either side of the aisle—willing to offer a full-throated endorsement of annual assessments, but former Vice President Joe Biden’s wobbly-kneed response to an incredibly loaded question at last week’s Public Education Forum was noteworthy nonetheless. Unlike Sen. Bernie Sanders, for example, […]
Two tensions in testing
By Dale Chu Last week, the Collaborative for Student Success and Education Week held a special event to mark the four-year anniversary of the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Participants took stock of the law’s impact thus far, and of the many conversations that took place, it became clear that for better […]
ESSA turns 4!
By Dale Chu Four years ago this month, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law. To mark the anniversary, the Collaborative for Student Success is hosting an event on December 10th at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. The afternoon event will include remarks from some of ESSA’s congressional authors, […]
The dishonesty of the assessment debate
By Dale Chu New Mexican students in grades 3 through 8 will be taking a new state assessment this upcoming spring. The “New Mexico Measure of Student Success and Achievement” — which also goes by the shorter though no more elucidating acronym “NM-MSSA” —replaces the PARCC test after it was scrapped with much fanfare. These […]
Does the bell toll for annual assessments?
By Dale Chu The Aurora Institute, formerly known as iNACOL, recently released five state policy recommendations for governors aimed at the future of education, training, and the future of work. What caught my eye was that one of these recommendations focused on pushing the envelope of state assessment systems. Specifically, the Aurora Institute calls out […]
Around the horn with NAEP
By Dale Chu Last week’s release of the 2019 NAEP report—the results of which were mostly grim—generated plenty of handwringing and a flurry of responses from pundits and policymakers of all stripes. In no particular order, here are some of them: – Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said it’s even more important now […]
The future(?) of state assessment (Part II): A conversation with NWEA’s Abby Javurek
By Dale Chu Abby Javurek is the Senior Director of Large Scale Assessment Solutions at Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), an education services organization probably best known for their computerized adaptive “MAP” tests. They recently announced the development of an adaptive, “through-year” assessment, a new solution that NWEA says eliminates the need for states to administer […]