National Blog Examines Assessment from Theory to Practice

James Harvey, a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership program at Seattle University College of Education (COE), launched a national conversation on assessment and accountability between scholars and school officials.

In Spring 2014, Education Week featured the blog “Assessing the Assessments,” a partnership between the Assessment and Evaluation Research Initiative at Teachers College, Columbia University and the National Superintendents Roundtable

Harvey, executive director of the National Superintendents Roundtable, and Madhabi Chatterji from Teachers College at Columbia University, served as moderators of the month-long assessment blog.

The blog explored validity issues in assessment, the “black box” of the Common Core, challenges involved in measuring achievement status versus achievement growth, assessment of education versus assessment for education, along with a variety of topics involving international assessment.

COE Dean Deanna Sands, EdD, participated in the blog in mid-April as one of a series of expert scholars from universities around the country providing thoughtful observations on such issues as measurement, accountability, and assessment. Dean Sands’ essay, “Let’s Expand What Formative Assessment Means,” argued for a new understanding of formative assessment while Kelley Kalinich, superintendent in Kenilworth, Illinois, talked about what that would look like in the classroom. Other participants in the blog included Tacoma Superintendent of Schools, Carla Santorno, a '08 graduate of COE’s Educational Administration program.

To read the blog, visit Education Week.