Assessment
Personalized Learning
Curriculum Associates: Leveraging For-profit Power With a Nonprofit Purpose
For-profit giants are often viewed with skepticism in education. Nonprofits generally focus on impact but move at a slower pace and struggle to raise donations to fund growth. Is there there a better model?
Personalized Learning
Hewlett Foundation Launches Prize for Short Answer Scoring
The Hewlett Foundation launched a $100,000 prize for scoring short answer student responses today on the Kaggle platform. After successfully tackling essay scoring, this prize takes on the more difficult challenge of scoring, with a high degree of accuracy, constructed responses of less than 150 words.
Personalized Learning
Policy Implications of Online & Blended Learning
At the National Charter School Conference (#NCSC) in Minneapolis yesterday, I participated in a discussion of the Policy Implications of Online & Blended Learning with Jim Griffin, Colorado Leage of Charter Schools, Mickey Revenaugh, Connections Learning, and David Hanson. I told the audience of school heads, authorizers, network leaders and district…
EdTech
Does Online Assessment Increase or Reduce Bias?
Dr. Mark Shermis addressed a question about the possible bias of online assessment and said, "Automated essay scoring software will ultimately make it easier to administer more writing assignments, raising the literacy bar for all school children."
EdTech
NYTimes: Online Scoring Will Lead to More & Better Writing
The Hewlett Foundation sponsored a study of automated essay-scoring engines now offered by commercial vendors. The researchers found that these produced scores effectively identical to those of human graders. Barbara Chow, education program director at the Hewlett Foundation, says: “We had heard the claim that the machine algorithms are as good as human graders, but we wanted to create a neutral and fair platform to assess the various claims of the vendors. It turns out the claims are not hype.”
Personalized Learning
6 Digital Learning Accelerants
6 digital learning accelerants: learning platform ecosystems, state leadership, high performing blended learning schools, evidence, barrier reduction, and state assessments
Personalized Learning
Online Writing Assessment Across South Dakota
With approximately 40% of high-schoolers learning in 1:1 environments and statewide use of an online writing assessment program, South Dakota is taking important steps toward the digital future of education. We connected with South Dakota Director of Assessment Gay Pickner to find out more.
Personalized Learning
Teaching & Testing the Common Core
“If we get this right, we’ll put our students on the path to a better future.” Gene Wilhoit, CCSSO, was talking about implementing Common Core assessments during closing panel of the Technology Enhanced Assessment conference. “Assessments are one element in the ecology of schools and school improvement,” David Conley said, “The whole system needs to be addressed.”
Personalized Learning
Prize Means More Writing, Deeper Learning for American Students
With the support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Open Education Solutions announced the winners of the $100,000 Automated Student Assessment Prize (ASAP) this morning in Washington DC. The top three teams, made up of international data scientists, developed predictive algorithms that were able to score thousands of essays very quickly with remarkable accuracy compared to expert graders.
Personalized Learning
An Odd Couple of Measuring 21st Century Skills
The morning session at the Technology Enhanced Assessments conference hosted by the K12 Center at ETS and CCSSO featured what Michael Russell, Measured Progress, called a formative assessment odd couple—a messy science virtual world and a math homework helper.