In this digital ITEMS module, Dr. Chad Gotch walks through different forms of assessment, from everyday actions that are almost invisible, to high-profile, annual, large-scale tests with an eye towards educational decision-making.
Module Overview
In this digital ITEMS module, Dr. Chad Gotch walks through different forms of assessment, from everyday actions that are almost invisible, to high-profile, annual, large-scale tests with an eye towards educational decision-making. At each stage, he illustrates the form of assessment with real-life examples, pairs it with ideal types of instructional or programmatic decisions, and notes common mismatches between certain decisions and forms of assessment. Teachers, administrators, and policymakers who complete the module will build a foundation to use assessment appropriately and effectively for the benefit of student learning. By going through they module, they will appreciate how assessment, when done well, empowers students and educators and, when done poorly, undermines foundational educational goals and sows anxiety and discord. The module contains audio-narrated slides, interactive exercises with illustrative videos, and a curated set of resources.
Chad Gotch, Washington State University
Chad Gotch is an Assistant Professor in the Educational Psychology program at Washington State University. His first experiences as a teacher came through environmental and informal science education for children during his undergraduate and Master’s degrees. After working in program assessment within university administration, Chad moved into the world of educational measurement and student assessment. Currently, he works to maximize appropriate and effective use of educational assessment. To this end, he studies the development of assessment literacy among both pre-service and in-service teachers, the communication of assessment results (e.g., score reporting), and the construction of validity arguments from both technical and non-technical evidence. These complementary lines of research inform the life cycle of assessment, from development to use and policy.
Chad previously partnered with NCME on the development of the Fundamentals of Classroom Assessment video for NCME (https://vimeo.com/212410753). At the university level, he teaches courses in educational statistics, educational measurement, and classroom assessment. Chad has served in an advisory role with the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s consolidated plan submission for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and as a consultant with the Oregon Department of Education in its teacher and administrator education efforts. He has worked with K-16 educators through both workshops and one-on-one consultation on various aspects of student assessment, and is the lead author of the chapter “Preparing Pre-Service Teachers for Assessment of, for, and as Learning” in the forthcoming book Teaching on Assessment from Information Age Publishing.
