By Dale Chu In an interview Miguel Cardona gave before he stepped down, the now former education secretary offered a curious answer to the question of his biggest regret. Here’s what he said: You never punch out. There’s always more you can do. I wanted to do...
By Dale Chu The latest NAEP math results are in, and they confirm what many have feared: our students remain in a deep hole when it comes to student achievement. The Nation’s Report Card has long been an invaluable barometer of academic progress, and this new...
By Dale Chu This week, Assessment HQ published 2024 assessment results for 41 states (and D.C.). The key takeaway is that (nominal) gains in math are outpacing ELA, but students are by and large still far behind. That hasn’t stopped some states from trying to sugarcoat...
By Dale Chu Now that most states have released their 2024 assessment results, what can we make of them? Overall, most states are nowhere near full recovery. Anecdotally, in conversations I’ve had with school and district leaders, more movement is being seen in math than ELA—with...
By Dale Chu With the election and Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror and the end of the year right around the corner, Assessment HQ enthusiasts can take heart in today’s release of 2023-24 state assessment scores for 41 states (and D.C.). With this update, Assessment HQ...
By Dale Chu There’s a long list of grievances when it comes to standardized testing. Among these are the glacial pace of returning results to parents, the politics of setting cut scores, and the user unfriendliness of state report cards. But perhaps the most foundational sticking...
By Dale Chu The assessment world was set alight last week with the news of skyrocketing test gains in the Sooner State. Reading scores for Oklahoma’s third graders jumped from 29 percent proficient last year to 51 percent this year. Eighth graders bested their previous mark...
By Dale Chu Coinciding with this week’s convention, the Democrats just released its party platform, a document that provides plenty of political comfort food, but nothing appetizing when it comes to annual assessments. Turn to page 26 in the platform to see for yourself the off-putting...
By Dale Chu There’s less than ninety days before voters head to the polls, but no shortage of assessment headlines worth flagging. Let’s go: States have started releasing 2024 state results: Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, and Missouri have issued their most recent assessment data. Overall, the...
By Dale Chu Two policy wonks I respect and admire, Charlie Barone and Rianna Saslow, recently co-authored an article in The 74 highlighting the key strategies used by “spotlight schools” in Colorado and Massachusetts to help lift student achievement. Notable among these is the centrality of...