The state of play on summative testing
By Dale Chu Tracker Updated Dec. 20, 2022. Since our assessment snapshot was released a few weeks ago, several states have responded with new information, which is now reflected in the narrative below. We intend to continue revising this post as more updates become available, though it’s worth underscoring here why we’re sharing and reporting […]
Broadening perspectives on testing
By Dale Chu On Tuesday, I attended a convening in New York City hosted by the National Urban League (NUL) and UnidosUS on the future of assessment and accountability (FOAA). Coming on the heels of last week’s NAEP release (more on that here and here), the timely event—titled “Broadening Perspectives: Education Assessment, Accountability, and Equity”—summarized […]
The glitter of assessment innovation
By Dale Chu Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Education announced nearly $30 million in awards to 10 states under the 2022 Competitive Grants for State Assessments program (CGSA). (For more on the CGSA, see this earlier post). The ten states are: Arkansas, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, and North Carolina. […]
The future of assessments
By Dale Chu Back in March, I kicked off a series of blog posts coinciding with the refresh of the Assessment HQ website (links to the first six installments below). I looked back on state testing during the last couple of years and lamented the lack of leadership and conviction vis-à-vis state assessment systems. I […]
Parents are back in backing state testing
By Dale Chu As the father of a rising second grader, I’ve got another year before my daughter begins annual state testing as required under federal law. Like many parents, I’m looking forward to the data these exams will provide—above all as a check upon the local assessments she’s been taking since she entered grade […]
Kiss my assessment
By Dale Chu For the first time in a long time, results from state standardized tests administered this spring will soon be available to help guide educators and policymakers through the long-term education recovery effort. Or will it? While no states begged out-of-state assessments entirely this year, there are already reasons to be concerned about […]
Teachers, particularly BIPOC teachers, value state testing
By Dale Chu A new survey conducted by Educators for Excellence offers some intriguing insights into how teachers see the process of education recovery and what schools might need to help get students back on track. Based on a representative sample of 1,000 full-time public school teachers, the survey, sponsored by NWEA, also included an […]
Who will lead on assessment innovation?
By Dale Chu “There go the people. I must follow them for I am their leader.” — Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin One of the few things that have become increasingly clear in the fog of the standardized testing debate is the glaring lack of leadership from education officials: state, national, or otherwise. Indeed, in an interview […]
Are annual assessments old hat?
By Dale Chu The state assessments happening now in 2022 closely mirror students’ testing experience back in 2002 at the advent of NCLB: they are largely multiple-choice and they are designed to gauge student progress towards a basic level of achievement. In some respects this is understandable. Twenty years ago, policymakers were constrained by the […]
Comprehensive or convoluted? Testing in 2021 painted a cloudy picture
By Dale Chu State testing is now underway. With luck and hopefully some leadership (more on that later in this series), the disruptions of the past two years will be put behind us. It’s likely we’ll see the bottom drop even more, but in too many states we won’t know because of shoddy data resulting […]