My Reaction to the PARCC & SBAC Responses
by Frederick M. Hess • May 1, 2014 at 9:58 am
The past couple days I've run pieces by PARCC's Jeff Nellhaus and SBAC's Joe Wilhoft that helped illuminate how their consortia are going to address some key challenges when it comes to making sure that the new Common Core tests can carry the load they're being asked to bear. I want to thank Jeff and Joe for their thoughtful, constructive, and illuminating contributions. I found the exchange somewhat heartening, after years during which my questions had been genially (and sometimes not so genially) brushed aside. And, to be clear, this exchange is less about PARCC, SBAC, or the Common Core in particular than about the practical challenges of introducing new, quasi-national, computer-assisted tests that are to be used for high-stakes decisions.
As has been the case all along, my primary concern is to have an open, transparent discussion so that I (and, I guess more importantly, parents, educators, voters, and those making the decisions) are clear how much weight these assessments should bear. This matters because these assessments are being used not merely for informational or instructional purposes, but to label schools, judge programs, evaluate teachers, and determine job security and pay.
Having read the responses by Jeff and Joe, I have a few additional queries. And let's be clear: the questions that follow aren't solely (or even mostly) for PARCC or SBAC, but also for the community of state officials, advocates, and educators committed to Common Core implementation. Indeed, these responses make clear that many of the challenges ahead are less questions of test design and psychometrics than of policy and practice. And I've long been puzzled that Common Core's champions have pooh-poohed these questions rather than charging out front to sound the alarm, demand aggressive action, and make sure this stuff actually works. (On the other hand, I would've thought Affordable Care Act enthusiasts would've done that for Healthcare.gov, and they didn't. So, who knows?)
1] Jeff notes, "Schools are responsible for creating testing conditions that are consistent with PARCC's protocol for standardized conditions." I get that. But what if they don't? What if some districts are lax on this count, or disorganized, or choose to try to inflate their results (a la Atlanta) by manipulating testing My Reaction to the PARCC & SBAC Responses :: Frederick M. Hess:
