Assessment Training Institute

[Peter Campbell <campbellp@mail.montclair.edu>]

I highly recommend the work that Rick Stiggins, Judy Arter, Jan  
Chappuis, and Stephen Chappuis are doing through their organization,  
the Assessment Training Institute (ATI). ATI was just acquired by ETS  
in March, so I don't know what the future holds for the quality of  
their work. However, I just returned from a 3-day seminar with Rick,  
Judy, and Jan in Portland, OR, and was absolutely blown away. The  
work focuses on high-quality formative assessment, which they refer  
to as "assessment FOR learning." They contrast this with the  
traditional mode of summative assessment, which they call "assessment  
OF learning." While summative assessment certainly has a role to  
play, it does little to promote teaching and learning. The key to  
implementing their principles is to create learning teams in the  
school building that focus on the on-going creation of high-quality  
assessments for learning. In this way, assessment is  
indistinguishable from instruction because assessment drives  
instruction. Also, peer-based professional development becomes a part  
of the culture of the school, not a one-day in-service training that  
sounds great, but quickly fades from memory.

More info at http://www.assessmentinst.com/

While it's relatively easy to critique the stupidity of NCLB, it's  
much more difficult to articulate a vision of something that can  
replace it, especially a vision that can be implemented in a  
practical way. But as far as school-based reform goes, Stiggins, et  
al, go the farthest of anyone I know in articulating a vision of  
teaching, learning, and assessment that can (and does) work.

Peter Campbell