presentation.md

The Unbearable Lightness of Student Growth

How can something so simple be made so complicated?

The Unbearable License of Student Growth by Damian Betebenner/Center for Assessment is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

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“If you can’t solve a problem, then there is an easier problem you can solve: find it.”

####George Pólya

#####Mathematical Discovery on Understanding, Learning, and Teaching Problem Solving, Volume I

report.md

The Irrelevance of Vertical Scales to Understanding Student Growth

“It is a common misconception that to measure student growth in education, the subject matter and grades over which growth is examined must be on the same scale—referred to as a vertical scale. Not only is a vertical scale not necessary, but its existence obscures fundamental concepts necessary to understand growth.” (Betebenner, 2009)

In many recent discussions with SBAC states, there has been common opinion expressed that having the vertical scale associated with the SBAC test will obviate the need for a growth model. These states did not have a vertical scale on their previous state tests and under the belief that with the vertical scale, gain scores will provide them with a viable "growth model".

References

Betebenner, D. W. (2009). Norm- and criterion-referenced student growth. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 28(4):42-51.