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