New science assessments in Massachusetts
By Dale Chu Just because spring testing is on hold doesn’t mean innovation in assessment has come to a halt. Last week, Massachusetts got the green light from the U.S. Department of Education to develop new science assessments for grades 5 and 8 under ESSA as part of the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority or IADA […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The new testing landscape: A conversation with FutureEd’s Lynn Olson
By Dale Chu Lynn Olson is an award-winning writer and editor, and a senior fellow at FutureEd, a think tank at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. They recently released a new report called The New Testing Landscape: State Assessments Under ESSA, which includes a scan of state testing systems across the country, a […]
Game-based assessments: hollow promise or promising frontier?
Author: Dale Chu When it comes to the future of assessments, gaming is often enthusiastically cited as a potential solution. After all, if standardized tests are boring and gaming is fun, the race to replace the former with the latter is entirely comprehensible. The aura of innovation and excitement surrounding video games, in particular, makes […]