To better address the needs of educators across our states, RMC has initiated a blog series that will focus on assessment. Although assessment is a critical activity at all levels — from statewide testing to classroom testing by teachers – schools of education cannot possibly cover the full domain of assessment literacy in their pre-service and in-service programs. There are many topics they just can’t squeeze into their curricula. How can our states design better and more innovative large-scale assessments given their budgetary and manpower limitations? What are the issues associated with using interim and local assessments for accountability? How can performance assessments be made technically sound and time- and cost-efficient? How should the components of a balanced assessment system be related? How can local educators deal with the problem of over testing? How can grading practices impact learning positively and negatively?
It is RMC’s hope that this blog site will be a popular vehicle for getting assessment-related questions answered and answered quickly. Dr. Stuart Kahl plans on posting a new post on an important topic in state or local testing periodically, with the intent that it will stimulate ongoing discussion. Questions, comments, and war stories are all welcome. Visitors to this site have a unique opportunity to benefit from Dr. Kahl’s expertise and many years of experience in testing.
As cofounder of Advanced Systems in Measurement and Evaluation, Inc. and founder and former CEO of the organization it later became, Measured Progress, Inc., Stuart Kahl has over 40 years of experience in educational assessment. He has worked at one time or another in most states. With a background in both measurement and curriculum/instruction (he was an elementary and secondary school teacher and his doctoral major was in curriculum and instruction), he has written, spoken, trained, and advised frequently on formative assessment, balanced assessment systems, test design/development/quality, curriculum-embedded performance assessment, classroom testing, teacher assessment literacy, and many other related topics. He recently retired from Measured Progress, but his passion for effective student testing would not allow him to retire completely from the field. We are pleased to offer Dr. Kahl as a resource for education policy makers and educators at all levels.
