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On Assessment and Measurement

September 19, 2012 By Will Richardson

Alfie Kohn:

In education, the question “How do we assess kids/teachers/schools?” has morphed over the years into “How do we measure … ?” We’ve forgotten that assessment doesn’t require measurement, and, moreover, that the most valuable forms of assessment are often qualitative (say, a narrative account of a child’s progress by an observant teacher who knows the child well), rather than quantitative (a standardized-test score). Yet the former may well be brushed aside in favor of the latter by people who don’t even bother to ask what was on the test. It’s a number, so we sit up and pay attention. Over time, the more data we accumulate, the less we really know.

Amen.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: alfie kohn, assessment, education, learning

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