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In an era in which information and learning know no geographic bounds, there is an unprecedented opportunity to utilize digital learning to transform our nation’s education system so that each child can be successful, realize his or her fullest potential, and pursue his or her most daring dreams. Indeed, it is the sum of these dreams that represents the future standing and economic competitiveness of this great nation.
As states across the country move forward in implementing the common core state standards, there is a chance to create the infrastructure for innovation, improved learning outcomes, and cost-savings at scale.
Part of this infrastructure will include the adoption of next-generation assessments. If done correctly, the shift from pencil-and-paper to online assessments will build upon this opportunity to transform the nation’s education system and provide a platform for new approaches to learning and schooling, not just to testing.
If done incorrectly, however, the adoption of these assessments also has the potential to lock our education system—for another decade or more—into its current factory-era model that has proved so inadequate to the task of meeting our nation’s education goals in the 21st century.
States and the assessment consortia designing the next generation of assessments are doing nothing less than laying the foundation for the next era of American public education. It is imperative that they architect a model of education that will withstand the test of time.
We, the undersigned, believe that states and the assessment consortia must move with all haste to deploy an assessment system that not only explicitly accommodates emerging models of innovative schooling, but also supports them. Some schools across the country are already moving in this innovative direction, as they shift from focusing on obsolete inputs of the past like seat time to creating new, blended schooling models that combine the best of face-to-face and online learning.* An assessment framework stuck in the factory-era relic of its predecessors would not only be orthogonal to innovative efforts like these, but could also serve to stifle further innovation—literally cutting it off at the knees.
Given the importance of this opportunity, we make three recommendations to the states and the assessment consortia.
1. Create a dynamic testing ecosystem, not another one-size-fits-all assessment. Rather than a single common test, the federal-funded opportunity offers the potential to create a vibrant assessment ecosystem comprised of multiple platforms, open-item banks, and multiple testing options that encourages deeper learning. An assessment ecosystem, rather than a single common test, will give states the flexibility to take advantage of innovations in digital learning over time while maintaining interoperability and comparability. For instance, assessments can be aligned and trusted through the use of a common matrix-based assessment, which can be used to set the curve. NAEP or PISA is an example of a matrix-based assessment; because they are broad and deep, no one student takes the whole test. Instead, several students each take a fraction of it—and a few thousand test-takers can give an accurate picture of the results in a state.
2. Plan for innovation. Interest in assessment systems, not just identical year-end or end-of-course tests, is a productive direction. So-called “interim” and “through-course assessments” can be beneficial in compiling a number of achievement data points. These assessments will be most useful, however, when integrated as part of an aligned learning system. With the shift from print to digital instructional materials, an increasing number of students will benefit from the instant feedback of content-embedded and real-time, adaptive assessment. Over time, a growing number of districts and networks will use instructional systems that produce a substantial body of achievement data tied to instructional experiences. Overlaying common interim or through-course assessments on these systems must not be redundant or, even worse, misaligned.
Next-generation assessment systems should instead be designed to be interoperable and flexible to ensure that states, districts, and schools can implement complementary alternative and aligned in-course assessments and instructional materials.
3. Adopt assessment systems that support transformation. Education is shifting from print to digital curricula and from teaching age-cohorts to personalized learning. New assessment systems should support rather than act as a barrier to competency-based learning—in which time is variable but learning is constant for each student—and systems should shift to focus on measuring and rewarding individual student growth instead of fixed inputs. Consequently, next-generation assessments must be made available on demand when a student completes a unit or course and not at a pre-determined time on the school calendar.
Sincerely,
Curt Allen, President and CEO, Agilix Labs, Inc.
Andres A. Alonso, CEO, Baltimore City Public Schools
Frank E. Baxter, Chairman Emeritus, Jefferies & Company
Marie M. Bjerede, Founder e-Mergents, LLC
Kelly Burnette, NBCT, FL State Teacher of the Year Finalist 2011
Idit Harel Caperton, President & Founder, World Wide Workshop
Samuel Casey Carter, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Jaime Casap, Senior Education Manager, Google
Stacey Childress, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Clayton M. Christensen, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
Susan J. Colby, CEO, Stupski Foundation
Allan Collins, Professor Emeritus of Learning Sciences, Northwestern University
Gunnar Counselman, Founder and CEO, Fidelis
Chris Dede, Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies, Harvard University
Beth Dozoretz, Unleashing Education Innovation Group
Robert Dunlevy, State Board of Education, West Virginia
Mark Edwards, Superintendent, Mooresville, NC
MaryEllen Elia, Superintendent, Hillsborough County Public Schools, FL
Julie Evans, CEO, Project Tomorrow
Rose Fernandez, Executive Director, National Parent Network for Online Learning
Michael M. Flood, Vice President Education Markets, Kajeet
Luis de la Fuente, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation
Stephanie Saroki de Garcia, Seton Education Partners
Roy Gilbert, Chief Executive Officer, Grockit
Jessica Goldfin, Special Assistant to the President, Knight Foundation
Thomas Greaves, Chairman, The Greaves Group, LLC
Michael Green, Member, State Board of Education, West Virginia
Michael E. Hanson, Superintendent of Schools, Fresno Unified School District
Scott Hartl, President and CEO, Expeditionary Learning
Nelson Heller, Founder, The Heller Reports and EdNET Conference
Alex Hernandez, Partner, Charter School Growth Fund
Michael B. Horn, Executive Director, Innosight Institute
Gisele Huff, Executive Director, Jaquelin Hume Foundation
Robert Iskander, Founder & CEO, EduTone Corporation
Todd Kern, Principal, 2Revolutions LLC
Mark Kushner, Senior Vice President of School Development and Partnerships, K12, Inc.
Rob Lippincott, Senior Vice President for Education, PBS
Gayle Manchin, State Board of Education, West Virginia; and former First lady
Margery Mayer, President, Scholastic Education
Kathleen McCartney, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Gerald S. Lesser Professor in
Early Childhood Development, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Terry M. Moe, Professor, Stanford University, and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
Vasanth Mohan, Vice President, MOBL21
Carrie Morgridge, Co-Founder, Morgridge Family Foundation
Rae Mugnolo, SMART Technologies
Susan Patrick, President and CEO, International Association for K-12 Online Learning
Daniel S. Peters, President, Lovett & Ruth Peters Foundation
Ramona Pierson, Chief Science Officer, Promethean
Fernando M. Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor of International Education,
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Victor Reinoso, Georgetown University (former Deputy Mayor for Education, DC)
Seth Reynolds, Partner, The Parthenon Group
Colin Rogister
Joel Rose, School of One
L. Todd Rose, Scientist, CAST, and Lecturer on Education, Harvard University
Aylon Samouha, Chief Schools Officer, Rocketship Education
Michael J. Schmedlen, Director of Worldwide Education, Lenovo
Mark Schneiderman, Senior Director of Education Policy, Software & Information
Industry Association
Don Soifer, Executive Vice President, Lexington Institute
Lawrence Stupski, Chairman, Stupski Foundation
Ana Thompson, Executive Director, Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation
Tom Vander Ark, CEO, Open Education Solutions
Dr. William M. White, Dean, The Charles H. Polk School of Leadership and
Professional Development, Mountain State University, WV
Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education
Esther Wojcicki, Teacher & Vice Chair, Creative Commons
Julie. E. Young, President & CEO, Florida Virtual School
The above list represents the letter’s original signatories. To add your signature, please click here.
Additional Signatories
Rick Ackerly, Consultant, Geniusinchildren
Nafez Al Dakkak, Consultant, PwC
David Albury, Design and Development Director, Global Education Leaders’ Program, Innovation Unit UK
Jeff Allen, Director of Educational Technology, Olympic Educational Service District 114
Robert Allen, President, Tutor Hawai’i
Pamela Appleton, Eastern Regional Director, ERB
Dorothy Ashton, Sr. Mgr. Part Time Student Services, Connections Learning
Jim Askew, Curriculum Coordinator, Crescent High School, Crescent, OK
Libby Baker, Senior Educational Consultant, Teaching Matters
Art Bardige, President, Enablearning
James C. Barrood, Executive Director, Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurship – Fairleigh Dickinson University
Edward Russell Bauer, Math Teacher, Jefferson County Schools
Elizabeth W. Bauer, Member (2003-2011), Michigan State Board of Education
R. Mark Beadle, Ed.D., CEO, Sevenstar Academy
Gary Beckner, Executive Director, Association of American Educators
David Bennett, RMIT University
Barnett Berry, President, Center for Teaching Quality
Victoria Bergsagel, President, Architects of Achievement
Frank Bonsal, General Partner, New Markets Venture Partners
James Bosco, Professor Emeritus Educational Studies, Western Michigan University
Wallace E. Boston, Jr., President and CEO, American Public University System
Robert C. Bowen, Chairman, Scientific Learning
Troy Lee Braley, Principal, Jeffco Public Schools
Craig G. Broeren, District Administrator, Prairie Farm School District
Michael Burkett, Teacher, Stone High School
Dean A Chandler, Founder & CEO, Innoprises
Monique Christensen, President, Indiana Virtual School Families
Jon Christian, High School Chemistry Teacher, Washington Park HS
Wayee Chu, Associate Partner, NewSchools Venture Fund
Alan D. Cohen, Principal, Portledge School
Elizabeth Corcoran, CEO, EdSurge
Senator Rich Crandall, Education Chair, Arizona Senate
Stephen Crawford, Research Professor, George Washinton University Institute of Public Policy
Brian Crouse, President, Online Christian Education Association
James Cryan, Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Prep
Kristin Cuilla, Director, New School Development, New Tech Network
Teresa Cushing, Program Manager, Harvard University
Hardin Daniel, Vice President, Discovery Education Assessment
Rob Darrow, Ed.D., Founder, Online Learning Visions
Hall Davidson, Director of Global Learning Initiatives, Discovery Education
Michael A. Davis, Chief of Staff, Fulton County Schools
Lisa Dawley, Professor, Boise State University
Jon S. DeArment, Vice President Mfg. & Eng., Channellock, Inc.
Donald D. Deshler, Director, University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning
Pam Dion, Co-Founder/Director, Advantages Online Private School
Lydia Dobyns, President, New Tech Network
Jonathan J Dunbier, TAS Teacher, Careers Advisor, Year Advisor, Mount Annan Christian College
Lisa Durff, FCP
Lesli Evans, President/Owner, Professional ED Corporation
Tracy Fitzwater, Teacher-Librarian, Crescent Education Association
Dana Fulmer, Supervisor for Professional Development, Ulster BOCES
Myk Garn, Director, Educational Technology, Southern Regional Education Board
Sajan George, Founder & CEO, Matchbook Learning
Lisa Gillis, President/CEO, Integrated Educational Strategies
Susan Graham, President/Lead, Graham Consulting
Brian Greenberg, Chief Academic Officer, Envision Schools
Matthew Greenfield, Partner, Stonework Capital
Diana L. Greer, Assistant Research Professor, eLearning Design Lab, University of Kansas
Jennifer Groff, Director of Learning & Program Development, Learning Games Network
Shandon D. Gubler, Board Member, Agilix Labs, Inc.
Lynette Guastaferro, Executive Director, Teaching Matters
Githa Spring Hampson, student, UCLA
Susan Hanson, Senior Researcher, New Teacher Center
Greg Harris, Policy Advisor, KnowledgeWorks
Monica Henson, Executive Director, Provost Academy Georgia
Darla Kay Hill, Distance Educator and Technology Integrationist
Randy Jay Hinrichs, CEO, 2b3d
Grace Hoagland, Director, Leadership Programs, Stanford Univ. School of Education
Shannon Holden, CEO, http://www.newteacherhelp.com
Doug Holton, Assistant Professor, Utah State University
Scott Hsu, Attorney, Self-Employed
Haiyan Hua, Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Jessica Isola, Director, Login Learning
Sharnell Jackson, President/CEO, Data-Driven Innovations Consulting
Anoop Jayadevan, Co-Founder, Fidelis
Ryan Jones, Secondary Teacher, Pajaro Valley Unified School District
Curtis Johnson, Managing Partner, Education Evolving
Marguerite Johnson, Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services, Westside Union School District
Richard Julian, 5th Grade Teacher, Los Altos School District
Melvin J. Kaplan, Co-founder/CEO, Harry Singer Foundation
Dana Keller, Writer, More Than Words
William Kelly, CEO, Learning.com
Gary Kidd, Director C&I, Belgrade Public Schools
Timothy Kieran O’Mahony, Research Associate, College of Education, University of Washington
Anthony Kim, CEO, Education Elements
James Knox, ESL Coordinator, ACCION Academy
Joel Kramer, Principal, Pierson Vocational High School, Nogales, AZ
Michael Kritzman, Founder and CEO, SchoolTown Blended Learning
Keith R. Krueger, CEO, Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)
James Landi, Headmaster, The Salisbury School of Maryland
Richard C. Larson, Professor, MIT
Hansoo Lee, CEO/Board Member, Magoosh/World Savvy
Bob Lenz, CEO, Envision Schools
Andrew Littlefield, Technology Administrator, Exeter Region Cooperative School District
Allen Lind, CEO, Kentucky Virtual Campus
Jessica Lindl, SVP Marketing and Sales, Scientific Learning
Alan Louie, Founder, Imagine K12
Brian Lynch, Founder, lynchpyns
Katherine Mackey, Education Research Fellow and Design Editor, Innosight Institute
Nicki Massieon, Consultant, retired educator, Colorado educational organizations
Edward P. Meehan, Partner, Arcady Bay Partners LLC
Juan Melendez, Professor, University of Puerto Rico
Myles Mendoza, National Strategy Director, Democrats for Education Reform
Brian J. Meshkin, School Board Member, Board of Education, Howard County, MD Public School System
Ed Meyen, Ph.D, University of Kansas
Al Meyers, Co-founder & Board Chair, Atlanta Music Project, Inc.
David Montgomery, Teacher, Oyster River Middle School
Jeffrey Moore, Administrative Supervisor for Curriculum and Instruction, Freehold Regional High School District
Nan J. Morrison, CEO, Council for Economic Education
Marsha M. Myles, President and CEO, EdTech Specialists, LLC
Jake Neuberg, Co-Founder, RevolutionK12
Steve Nordmark, VP, Education Technology Architect, netTrekker
Cathleen Norris, Regents Professor, University of North Texas
Fiona O’Carroll, EVP, New Ventures & Innovation, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Cheryl Oakes, Resource Room Teacher/Facilitator, Wells High School
Richard Ogston, CEO, Carpe Diem Schools
Jaison Oliver, Enrollment Specialist, Reasoning Mind
Joseph Pedulla, Associate Professor, Senior Research Associate, Boston College, Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation & Public Policy
Lisa A. Petrides, President, Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME)
Susan C. Powell, Ed.D, Senior Professional Development Consultant, Education 2020
David E. Pritchard, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics, MIT
David M. Quinn, Vice President, Assessment & Evaluation, Sangari Global Education
Dominic A.A. Randolph, Head of School, Riverdale Country School
Karl T Rectanus, Leader, NC STEM Community Collaborative
Alex Ragone,Director of Technology: Grade 8 Dean,Collegiate School
Osman Rashid, Co-Founder and CEO, Kno, Inc.
Dave Saba, CEO, Laying the Foundation
Katie Salen, Executive Director, Institute of Play
Bror Saxberg, Chief Learning Officer, Kaplan, Inc.
Marlene B. Seltzer, President & CEO, Jobs for the Future
Justin Serrano, President, Kaplan K12 and College Prep
Bryan Setser, Vice President, Open Education Solutions
Nirmal Singh, CEO, Integrated Learning Solution
Pram Sithuoth, RAN Field O&M Engineer, Latelz
Elliot Soloway, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, University of Michigan
Heather Staker, Senior Research Fellow, Innosight Institute
Michael Staton, CEO, Inigral, Inc
John Stuppy, Ph.D., CEO, EDUMETRIX Inc.
Paula Tallal, Board of Governors Professor of Neuroscience, Rutgers University
Michael Thompson, Director, Ed Elements
Doug Tuthill, President, Step Up For Students
Christine Harris-Van Keuren, Consultant and Doctoral Student, Teachers College, Columbia University
Daniel S. Varner, Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Member, Michigan State Board of Education
Louise Bay Waters, Superintendent & CEO, Leadership Public Schools
Cathy Webb, K-12 Technology Integration Coach, Edmonds Heights K-12
Stewart Weinberg, Superintendent of Schools, Dallastown Area School District
Eileen Weiser, Member, Michigan State Board of Education
Thomas Welch, Consultant, 1992 KY teacher of the year, TWelch Consulting
Steven Werlein, Head of School, Gateway College Prep School
Colleen Wernet, Math Teacher, Ipswich High School, MA
Lorraine Whalen, Technology Support Teacher, Los Alamos Public Schools
Randy Wilhelm, CEO, netTrekker
Dr. Kirk Wilson, CEO, World Change Network
Ric Wiltse, Executive Director, Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning
Beth Ann Wright, Founder & CEO, Translational Education LLC
H. Laurie Yankowitz, Teachers College, Columbia University
Todd Yarch, Principal, VOISE Academy High School
Dr. Katherine Zatz, Chair, Board of Trustees, American Public University System
Nikkie Zanevsky, Marketing Manager, Children’s Progress
Endnote
*See Heather Staker, “The rise of K-12 blended learning: Profiles of emerging models,” Innosight Institute, May 2011, http://www.innosightinstitute.org/blended_learning_models/. The report profiles 40 operators pioneering blended-learning models of various types, several of which are moving in this bold new direction for students.
