[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[xmca] Fwd: Testing the limits of testing





Begin forwarded message:

From: Theo Dawson <theo@devtestservice.com>
Date: April 8, 2009 9:00:36 AM GMT-04:00
To: davidpreiss@uc.cl
Subject: Testing the limits of testing

National Testing Survey Launch Event and Workshop

The NTS is an interactive online survey that asks about (1) the legitimate purposes of testing and (2) how well today's tests serve these purposes. In addition to completing a set of survey questions, respondents are offered an opportunity to write about their personal experiences with testing and share alternative testing resources. When respondents have completed the survey, they can view their results and compare them to national averages. Anyone who visits the site can read respondents' stories, explore the resources, and track National results. Please participate in the NTS, and use your email lists and social networks to spread the word! Feel free to circulate the NTS poster or the poster announcing the NTS launch event. Contact Zachary Stein if you have questions or would like to become involved.

NTS launch event: Testing the limits of testing
Thursday, May 28th, 2009, 4:00 - 5:30 pm
Zachary Stein, Marc Schwartz, and Theo L. Dawson

The launch event will occur just prior to the opening of the Second Biennial Conference of the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (IMBES) at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At this event, speakers will present preliminary data from the NTS, examine the limits of current test development methods, and explore new approaches to assessment, incorporating the perspectives of stakeholder groups who have participated in the survey so far. More information is available on the NTS site. Admission to the launch is FREE and open to the public, but space is limited. To attend, you must obtain a ticket from the NTS web site.
The conference will also feature a workshop on testing:

Educational testing for the 21st century: Challenges, models, and solutions
10:45 - 3:45, Saturday, May 30
Kurt Fischer, Marc Schwartz, Theo Dawson, Zachary Stein

The most basic form of educational testing takes the form of a "conversation" between an individual student and a teacher in which the student reveals what he or she is most likely to benefit from learning next. This kind of conversation increasingly takes a back seat to standardized forms of assessment that are designed to rank students for purposes that are dissociated from learning itself. Testing has lost its roots. The statistically generated rankings of standardized tests tell us very little about the specific learning needs of individual students. And it is becoming increasingly apparent that the kind of knowledge required to succeed on a typical standardized test bears little resemblance to the kind of knowledge required for adult life. The challenge we now face is creating the kind of mass-customization that revives the educative role of assessments in the local dialogue between teachers, students, and the curriculum, while maintaining the advantages of standardization. Simply stated: we need tests that help teachers meet the learning needs of individual students--tests teachers ought to teach to. In this workshop, we explore perspectives on these issues from the classroom, cognitive developmental science, psychometrics, and philosophy and offer a concrete vision for the future of assessment. The workshop is intended for educators, administrators, researchers, and policy makers. It is FREE to those who register for the entire IMBES conference. If you are interested in attending only the workshop, the fee is $80 before April 28th, and $95 after April 28th.

You can register for the conference or the workshop at the IMBES site.


This message was sent from Theo Dawson to davidpreiss@uc.cl. It was sent from: Developmental Testing Service, 35 South Park Terrace, Northampton, MA 01060. You can modify/update your subscription via the link below.

  Manage your subscription	
Share this message with others: del.icio.us Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon


David Preiss, Ph.D.
Escuela de Psicología
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Av Vicuña Mackenna - 4860
7820436 Macul
Santiago, Chile

Fono: 3544605
Fax: 3544844
e-mail: davidpreiss@uc.cl
web personal: http://web.mac.com/ddpreiss/
web institucional: http://www.epuc.cl/profesores/dpreiss

_______________________________________________
xmca mailing list
xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca