NCME Newsletter

In this final Presidential Column, I reflect on where I see us as a field of measurement practitioners and scientists, and where I think we should be heading. This reflection starts with a discussion of NCME’s lack of influence on educational assessment policy in the No Child Left Behind era, and how it has damaged the perception of measurement professionals in the general public. Next, I discuss NCME’s revised mission, vision, and goals, and recent actions the NCME Board has taken to move us forward on the path to accomplish our goals and improve our public engagement. I end with a list of thanks to the many members of our community who have truly been superheroes for our organization.

Read the Perspectives on our Past, Present, and Future address here.

From the Editor
Megan Welsh, University of California, Davis

Welcome to the April 2020 issue, which focuses on the issue of the day, COVID-19 and its impact on the educational measurement community. In it, we learn about the impact on state assessment and accountability systems from Michelle Croft; IEA's International Computer and Information Literacy Study, a topic of great importance as students move to online instruction; Sattik Ghosh's thoughts on the impact of universities' move to online instruction, and information on portions of the annual meeting that will continue as scheduled, but in an online format.

We also hear the final address from our current president, Steve Sireci, and I share the results of the newsletter feedback survey. Joseph Rios, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, is our Spotlight podcast interview. He specializes in the assessment of English language learners, international comparative tests, and how to identify and deal with non-effortful responses on low-stakes tests.

Finally, we share the call for the next newsletter editor, publish an update from the Graduate Student Issues Committee, announce the winners of the EM:IP data visualization contest and Diversity Issues in Testing Committee student travel fellowship awardees, receive updates from the Mission Fund Committee, publicize a call for manuscripts for Latent Variable Models in Education, and report on the newly-established SIGIMIES and how to join them.


	Graduate Student Corner: Changes to Graduate Education Due to COVID-19 Sattik Ghosh, University of California, Davis
	Hello! I hope everyone is staying safe and staying sane in these challenging times. I feel that now, more than ever, is a good time for us to ensure that we’re all engaging consciously and abundantly in self-care. With that said, I’d like to get into the topic of this post: the pandemic-driven mass migration of university coursework from face-to-face formats to online formats. Lots of college campuses across the country, including mine, have announced that all courses for the remainder of the school year will be conducted online. While the circumstances driving this push toward online coursework are less than ideal, I’ve been wondering – are there rich, unique research opportunities here? Read more here.

In this Issue

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Spotlight on the People Who Make Our Organization Great
Joseph Rios, University of Minnesota

This issue's spotlight focuses on Joseph Rios, Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota. Click on the link below to hear Joseph discuss how his career has evolved, hear tips for graduate students about how to approach a career in measurement, and to learn about his hobbies. His Spotlight write-up can be found here.

Legal Corner: COVID-19 and Impacts to State Assessment and Accountability Systems
Michelle Croft, ACT

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has disrupted many aspects of daily life, including schools. According to Education Week, as of March 19, 2020, 44 states had closed their schools. The timeframe for reopening varies by state and may require ongoing adjustments given the evolving/changing circumstances of the pandemic; however, at least one state has already announced that school buildings will be closed for the remainder of the year.

The closures are already having a broad impact on school decision-making, ranging from how to provide for students’ basic needs to whether and how to provide online instruction, particularly given that not all students have access to technology. The closures are also impacting assessment and accountability, as they are occurring at a time when many states were administering or were about to administer their spring summative assessments. Read here about the impact of COVID-19 on assessment.

	Newsletter Feedback Received
	Thanks so much for providing feedback on the newsletter. Read here for a summary of what we learned about what does and does not work for readers with respect to newsletter content and format.

IEA's ICILS Study: How Well are Students Prepared for Study, Work, and Life in a Digital World? Dirk Hastedt, International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement
In these strange new times of closed schools and working from home, IEA’s International Computer and Information Literacy Study, ICILS 2018, suggests that lots of teachers and their students may struggle to use technology as a replacement for traditional in-classroom teaching. While 70% of students attended schools where ICT coordinators indicated that digital content linked with textbooks was available for teaching and learning, just 32% of teachers in the study reported using this sort of digital content. At its heart, ICILS addresses a question of critical importance: how well are students prepared for study, work, and life in a digital world? Read here for more information about the ICILS study.
NCME Annual Meeting: Two Virtual Sessions April 18 and 20
Although our in-person meeting in San Francisco this year is not to be, NCME is pleased to offer two virtual sessions. Please join us online for the following: 1) Using Educational Assessments to Educate: A Conversation with Edmund Gordon Saturday, April 18, 2020: 2:00-3:30 p.m. East Coast Time Join online via zoom: https://zoom.us/j/148300221 (Meeting ID: 148 300 221) 2) NCME 2020 Annual Business Meeting Monday, April 20, 2020: 12:30-2:00 p.m. East Coast Time Join online via zoom: https://zoom.us/j/914488624 (Meeting ID: 914 488 624) Session descriptions can be found here:

In Other News
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Updates

Lots has been happening behind the scenes at NCME. Please see the links below for details:

Upcoming Opportunities

We are excited to share news about an opening for NCME newsletter editor, SIGIMIES you can become involved with, and a call for manuscripts for a special issue of Latent Variable Models in Education. Click on the links below to learn more:

About the NCME Newsletter

The NCME Newsletter, a quarterly publication, contains announcements and news about current events pertinent to research and practice in educational measurement. The events include those both internal and external to NCME that will interest NCME membership. The Newsletter also provides NCME membership with information about the activities of the NCME Board and NCME committees.

The folders below contain previous NCME Newsletters, dating back to 2003. Click on the year you would like to search, and then click on a PDF to view an archived NCME Newsletter.

In This Issue:

Library

Folders

NCME Newsletters

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

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2012

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Spotlight Interviews and Other Media

Folder Contents

Video Interviews

Jamal Abedi Spotlight Interview

Patricia Crespo: How to talk to educators

Patti Herrera: How to talk to policymakers

Jade Caines Lee Spotlight Interview

Andy Middlestead Spotlight Interview

André Rupp Spotlight Interview Tell me about your hobbies

Where do you work? What are your research interests?

Tell me about your teaching experience How did you get involved in ITEMS?

What career advice do you have? What would you do if you weren't in measurement?

Steve Sireci Spotlight Interview