New Era for Educational Assessment (original) (raw)

In this paper, I draw upon the results from research conducted by my colleagues and me, as well as by others, to argue that the time is ripe for a major shift in educational assessment. In particular, analysis of syllabi, assignments, assessments, and student work from entry-level college courses, combined with perceptions of instructors of those courses, provides a much more detailed picture of what college and career readiness actually entails—the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that can be assessed, taught, and learned that are strongly associated with success beyond high school (Achieve, Education Trust, & Fordham Foundation 2004; ACT 2011; Conley 2003; Conley, et al. 2006; Conley & Brown 2003; EPIC 2014a; Seburn, Frain, & Conley 2013; THECB & EPIC 2009; College Board 2006). Advances in cognitive science (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking 2000; Pellegrino & Hilton 2012), combined with the development and implementation of Common Core State Standards and their attendant assessments (Conley 2014a; CCSSO & NGA 2010a, 2010b), provide states with a golden opportunity to move toward the notion of a more comprehensive system of assessments in place of a limited set of often-overlapping measures of reading and math.