November 1999 Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Announcements and Review of the Agenda
President Kolen called the meeting to order, reviewed the agenda, and asked if there were modifications or additions to the agenda.
Approval of the Minutes
Minutes of the August 4-5, 1999, Board of Directors Meetings were approved as submitted.
Dates of Next Meeting
The Board confirmed that the dates of the next Board meetings at the New Orleans Annual Meeting would be on April 24, 4:00 - 7:00 PM and April 27, 4:00 - 7:00 PM. Area directors were reminded to schedule meetings with their committee chairs (including outgoing and incoming) during the Annual Meeting. Committee chairs, editors, and representatives will be invited to the Board meetings to present their reports to the Board if they have "actionable" items for consideration. It was noted that the membership questionnaire distributed at the Breakfast meeting should be formatted to allow room for a name and address to be recorded.
Committee Structure
In reviewing the committee structure within the five broad areas, Board members suggested that for the sake of balance and function the Graduate Student Issues Committee and the International Student Issues Committee be removed from the Membership and Recognition Area and added to the Standards Area, expanding the name of the Standards Area to Standards and Issues. In addition, it was suggested that Education Testing Legislation and Policy Analysis be transferred from Outreach to Standards and that the Classroom Assessment Award be transferred from Membership and Recognition to Outreach. Definitive action was not taken on the proposals. Members suggested that action be delayed to the summer Board meeting that typically focuses on long range strategic planning.
Long Range Planning
President Kolen introduced the topic of long range strategic planning by suggesting a new activity that the Board might consider- namely, recommendations for changes or refinements in the process to revise the Standards for Educational and Psychological and Testing. Issues that should be considered included: support staff, role of the chair or co-chairs, appointment of joint committee members, workflow, and general operational procedures. After a brief discussion, Board members asked the President to appoint an ad hoc committee (preferably of former Board members) to develop recommendations for the development of subsequent revisions of the Standards for consideration at the next Board meeting.
In reviewing the organization’s effort to provide training and professional development opportunities for its members, it was requested that the Call for proposals be expanded to solicit proposals for longer training sessions and sessions not tied to the Annual Meeting to establish a year round training program. In addition to the Call, the Committee should invite members to submit proposals to launch the expanded vision of the training program. The Breakfast survey should include a section for members to volunteer to conduct such training initiatives as well as to suggest topics. Finally, it was suggested that the Training and Professional Development Committee work with the Outreach Committee to identify possible external sponsors for the training program.
After further discussion of member services, Board members suggested that it might be beneficial to conduct a membership survey. The last one was done several years ago.
The issue of recruitment of talented individuals into the field of educational measurement remains a pressing and critical problem. The supply of new graduates continues not to meet the demand. Greater efforts and new approaches to "get the word out" about various types of employment opportunities, compensation structures, and the importance of the work, should be undertaken. The discussion was the catalyst for Dr. Kolen to call an informal meeting of directors of graduate programs in educational measurement and test publisher representatives during the Annual Meeting to discuss the problem and possibly share experiences on what works in attracting students to graduate programs, fellowships, internships, and employment in the field of educational measurement.
Administration
Dr. Kolen was pleased to report that the AERA Council had agreed to extend NCME’s Central Office contract. He noted that he attended the AERA Board meeting and was well received. Subsequent to the meeting, he learned that the contract will be renewed for five years using an adjustment that ties the Central Office annual salary increases to the current fee structure. AERA was concerned about protecting itself if there were unforeseen circumstances. Thus, the contract wording contained a clause that indicated "Due to an unanticipated event, either party may initiate renegotiations of this agreement in a mutually agreeable fashion." The Board voted unanimously to accept the contract offered by AERA in a letter dated November 7, 1999.
Dr. Kolen distributed a current committee roster of appointments. He asked that the vacancies be filled as soon as possible. He also asked that area directors review the committee charges, review the time frames, and update committee activities so changes could be incorporated into the Handbook. He also said he would be pleased to review the committee structure and offer assignments to area directors for what needs to be done in various committees.
Finally, Dr. Kolen noted that the Nominations Committee had completed its task and the work of the award committees appeared to be on schedule. The area directors were requested to follow up with committees that had not submitted a report by the time of the Board meeting (i.e., International, Classroom Assessment, Minority Issues).
Annual Meeting
The Board reviewed the report of the Annual Meeting Program Chair, Deborah Harris. It reported in some detail the content, formats, and process used to develop the 2000 Program. Of particular note were the participation rules used by the Program Committee: (a) a member may not be a presenter in more than one paper session; (b) a member may not be a presenter in more than one coordinated session, but may participate as a discussant in one other coordinated session; (c) a member may chair or organize one event in addition to those listed previously, and (d); Overall, no person may have an active role in more than four sessions. The Committee suggested that the rules published in the Call concerning maximum participation be changed to refer to submitting, rather than presenting. The sentiment was expressed that NCME should not overly restrict participation in the Meeting and that the restrictions should not be too prescriptive. After further discussion of the rules, the Board decided to postpone consideration of them until the April Board Meeting when data from the past two years reflecting the impact the rules (e.g., cap of four versus three) have on the Program could be presented.
The Board did not concur with the suggestion that the no-host reception should be called the Graduate Student Issues reception because it is intended for all NCME members. The Board suggested it would be sympatric to a proposal for a student rate for the Breakfast if the Graduate Student Committee could find a sponsor. The Board expressed concern about the deadline in the Call for graduate student sessions. The Call should have just one deadline. It was also noted that the Graduate Student Issues Committee has only one guaranteed session.
In response to a suggestion from a member, the Board felt it was a good idea to have a few (approximately four to six) of the NCME Annual Meeting sessions audio taped in conjunction with the identical enterprise done by AERA. The tapes would be available for sale during and after the Annual Meeting. Permission should be asked of the participants in the selected sessions and the Program should note which sessions were being tape recorded.
Membership Directory
It was suggested that organizational affiliations of members be included in the Membership Directory. It was noted the such information is currently included in the membership database. It was further suggested that the membership demographic information be printed on renewal notices. Finally, the Central office was requested to upgrade the membership roster to a more professional desktop publishing look than the current computer print out.
Joint Committee on Testing Practices
The Joint Committee on Testing Practices asked NCME once again to consider granting its Level Two endorsement to the Rights and Responsibilities of Test Takers which will soon be published. The Board felt that nothing had changed since its last consideration of the document when it raised some basic concerns. Thus, the Board felt NCME Level One endorsement was still appropriate. There was also concern about how NCME’s involvement and endorsement would be portrayed in the document.
The Board was pleased to note that the JCTP Committee did not intend to undertake a complete revision of the Code of Fair Testing Practices. It would only be revised as necessary to be consistent with the new Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. It was felt that such a guiding principal should be clearly stated at the outset so that the members involved in the revision clearly understood their charge.
Board members raised questions and expressed some concern about the appointments of individuals to working groups of JCTP. It appeared that many members frequently recycled through various groups. In particular, concern was raised about adequate representation of committee members with K-12 measurement expertise.
Discussion ended with reiteration of the notion that the Board should have periodic opportunities to review drafts of the revised code and that representatives of JCTP be invited to meet with the Board in April in New Orleans. Board members were requested to send President Kolen names of K-12 measurement experts and members with state testing experience that he might suggest to JCTP for involvement in working groups.
Publications
Dr. Frisbie highlighted the Publications Committee report. He noted that two editorial searches had been completed, the Website was now functioning, and the Committee charge had been revised and included in the report. Dr. Frisbie also reported that the Committee was in the process of generating names for consideration in the JEM editorial appointment process in time for action by the Board in April.
It was suggested that abstracts and indexes to JEM and EM:IP be posted on the NCME Webpage to increase visibility and promote membership. However, questions were raised about the utility of such an effort given that all members receive both journals and ERIC maintains abstracts of past issues of the journals. It was suggested that a hot link on the NCME Webpage be provided to ERIC. It was suggested that the Program Committee consider accepting electronic submissions in response to the Call for papers. If it were done for the 2001 Annual Meeting, it should be conducted as a pilot test. The Board was pleased to note that the 2000 Annual Meeting Program would be on line.
It was suggested that PDF copies of the newsletter be put on the Webpage. It is conceivable that in time, print copy of the newsletter may not be necessary. It was also suggested that a section of the Webpage be provided for job announcements at no charge. The Board approved a motion to publish the Board minutes on the Webpage and that they no longer be published in EM:IP.
A proposal to publish a third edition of the Handbook of Teacher Evaluation was distributed at the meeting. The Board approved the concept to revise the Handbook. The Publications Committee was asked to work with the authors of the proposal to develop a full proposal, including a multi year budget for review at the April Board meeting. It was noted that the Publications Committee would have to review a proposed editorial board and that the President would appoint the editor(s).
The budget proposed for the Webpage for its second year of operation of $17,522 was approved.
Fellowships
A report from the Fellowship Committee was distributed. It contained a call for applications, a goal statement, and two versions of an announcement to raise funds to support the Fellowship program next year. A variety of fund raising activities were proposed that included raffles at the Annual Meeting and soliciting donations from members and institutions.
The Board reviewed the experience with the Fellowship Program to date. It was felt that the Fellowship Program did not achieve its primary objective of attracting new students to the field of educational measurement. It was noted that the program was relatively expensive. NCME invested $360,000 to support the Fellowship Program over the past four?// years. Questions arose about what would happen if funds were solicited but the program did not receive adequate funding to continue? What would be done with the donations received? After further discussion, it was decided that the Fellowship Program should be sunset and the President would inform the Committee. However, the critical question that gave birth to the creation of the Fellowship program remains one of recruitment. What strategies have been effective in attracting students into the field, and what could NCME do to support Measurement Programs in its recruiting efforts? Dr. Kolen reiterated his interest in discussing the basic issues at a special meeting that he would call during the Annual Meeting.
Outreach
Dr. Earl reported that an Outreach report had not been distributed. She noted that a possible issue for the Committee to address is the question of an implied endorsement of products - such as, the Tool Kit, as it relates to the Classroom Assessment initiative.
Finance
The Board approved the revised draft FY 2000 budget that was initially presented in April. The budget projected income and expenses of $273,550 and $362,867, respectively. The Board also accepted the audit report for FY 1999 prepared by the CPA firm of Kirwan and Company. The report indicated that expenses exceeded income by $93,968 during the past fiscal year.
Respectfully submitted,
William J. Russell
Executive Director