A True Test - Toward More Authentic and Equitable Assessment

2004

Testing and particularly standardized tests are increasingly identified as sources of a host of ills that afflict contemporary education. The ills have been widely catalogued and discussed (Kohn, 2000; Sacks, 1999). Testing and standardization are not, however, in themselves, the causes of these ills; to think so would be an error and a distraction, because the real problem is far deeper and more widespread. It lies in the noneducational uses of tests, an almost universal, unhealthy practice.

1989

The questicn of whether tests can be both curriculum-neutral and effectivt means of monitoring and motivating educational practice is discussed. Educational reform and testing are intimately linked, as tests are wAely viewed as a means of educational improvement. Tests/assessments influence educator behavirx" by stimulating them to assure that their students perform well. Tests/assessments used for public accountability or program evaluation purposes affect the curriculum. A new vision of education-a thinking-oriented curriculum (TC) for all students-is considered, in which edu:ation focuses on higher-order abilities, problem solving and thinking, and the ability to go beyond the routine and exercise personal judgment. Current tests that are inimical to a TC are discussed. To assess the extent to which decomposition and decontextualization-two key assumptions underlying standardized testing-permeate today's achievement tests, reading comprehension, language, and mathematics test batteries that are widely used in educational assessment are analyzed. Standardized tests fare badly when judged against the criterion of assessing and promoting a TC, They embody a view of education that defines knowledge and skill as a collection of bits of information and they demand fast non-reflective replies. Alternative performance assessments for a TC, including open-ended writing examinations (essays) and portfolio assessments, help release educators from the pressure toward fractionated low-levP1 forms of learning that are rewarded by most current tests, and they also set positive standards for an educational system that strives to cultivate thinking. Tied to curriculum and designed to be taught to, performance assessments can be essential tools for raising authentic educational achievement. A 25-item list of references is included. (RLC)

2000

The reasons for carrying out educational assessments can be grouped under three broad headings:

Education Policy Analysis Archives, 2015

In this article, David Conley focuses on how to assess meaningful learning in ways that promote student achievement while simultaneously meeting system accountability needs. The article draws upon research that supports the notion that a major shift in educational assessment is needed in order to encourage and evaluate the kind of learning that enables success in college and careers. Over the next several years, almost every state will either implement the Common Core State Standards or develop an alternative version of their own. The question worth posing is whether educational stakeholders should be satisfied with on- demand tests that measure only a subset of the standards, or will they demand something more like a system of assessments in which multiple measures result in deeper insight into student mastery of complex and cognitive challenging standards? This article presents a vision for a new system of assessments, one designed to support the kinds of ambitious teaching and le...

ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED, 1990

In this article, David Conley focuses on how to assess meaningful learning in ways that promote student achievement while simultaneously meeting system accountability needs. The article draws upon research that supports the notion that a major shift in educational assessment is needed in order to encourage and evaluate the kind of learning that enables success in college and careers. Over the next several years, almost every state will either implement the Common Core State Standards or develop an alternative version of their own. The question worth posing is whether educational stakeholders should be satisfied with on- demand tests that measure only a subset of the standards, or will they demand something more like a system of assessments in which multiple measures result in deeper insight into student mastery of complex and cognitive challenging standards? This article presents a vision for a new system of assessments, one designed to support the kinds of ambitious teaching and learning that most parents say they want for their children. The article begins with a brief historical overview, describes where educational assessment appears to be headed in the near term, and then discusses some longer-term possibilities, concluding with a series of recommendations for how policymakers and practitioners can move toward a better model of assessment for teaching and learning.

Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research & Perspective, 2003

2001). The committee issuing this report was charged with synthesizing advances in the cognitive sciences and measurement, and exploring their implications for improving educational assessment. The article opens with a vision for the future of educational assessment that represents a significant departure from the types of assessments typically available today, and from the ways in which such assessments are most commonly used. This vision is driven by an interpretation of what is both necessary and possible for educational assessment to positively impact student achievement. The argument is made that realizing this vision requires a fundamental rethinking of the foundations and principles guiding assessment design and use. These foundations and principles and their implications are then summarized in the remainder of the article. The argument is made that every assessment, regardless of its purpose, rests on three pillars: (1) a model of how students represent knowledge and develop competence in the subject domain, (2) tasks or situations that allow one to observe students' performance, and (3) interpretation methods for drawing inferences from the performance evidence collected. These three elements-cognition, observation, and interpretation-must be explicitly connected and designed as a coordinated whole. Section II summarizes research and theory on thinking and learning which should serve as the source of the cognition element of the assessment triangle. This large body of research suggests aspects of student achievement that one would want to make inferences about, and the types of observations, or tasks, that will provide evidence to support those inferences. Also described are significant advances in methods of educational measurement that make new approaches to assessment feasible. The argument is presented that measurement models, which are statistical exam-ples of the interpretation element of the assessment triangle, are cuuently available to support the kinds of inferences about student achievement that cognitive science suggests are important to pursue. Section III describes how the contemporary understanding of cognition and methods of measurement jointly provide a set of principles and methods for guiding the processes of assessment design and use. This section explores how the scientific foundations presented in Section II play out in the design of real assessment situations ranging from classroom to large-scale testing contexts. It also considers the role of technology in enhancing assessment design and use. Section IV presents a discussion of the research, development, policy, and practice issues that must be addressed for the field of assessment to move forward and achieve the vision described in Section I.

We are indebted to too many people to list here for enlightening discussions of topics addressed in this paper. We would like to acknowledge Lyle Bachman, Irwin Kirsch, Mary Schedl, and John Norris with regard to issues in language assessment, and, for their comments on an earlier draft, the editor Mark Wilson and two anonymous referees.

education policy analysis archives, 1998

We do not know much about what assessment has accomplished but we know it has not brought about the reform of American Education. The costs and benefits of large scale mandated achievement testing are too complex to be persuasively reported. Therefore, educational policy needs to be based more on deliberated interpretations of assessment, experience, and ideology. Evaluation of assessment consequences, however inconclusive, has an important role to play in the deliberations.

csusb.edu

Since the institution of the common school and the advent of universal education, Americans have placed tremendous faith in public schools. Public education cultivates an informed citizenry, one of the pillars of a liberal democracy (Delli Carpini and Keeter, 1996, and ...