2024 Frank B. Womer Lecture
Prechter Lab (Room 2022)
Reflections on educational accountability and assessment: Revisiting the perspectives of an economist, a psychometrician, and a father of a special needs
Presented by Dr. Derek Briggs
Director, Center for Assessment, Design, Research and Evaluation (CADRE)
Professor, Research & Evaluation Methodology, University of Colorado, Boulder
In February of 2013, Dr. Briggs gave a Womer lecture entitled “An economist, a psychometrician and a father of a special needs child walk into a school…” In that talk, he considered some best- and worst-case scenarios for the use of student assessments in conjunction with value-added modeling as an approach meant to enhance educational opportunities and outcomes. He did so from three perspectives: that of an economist, that of a psychometrician, and that of the father of a special needs child. He argued that all three perspectives would need to be taken into consideration for high-stakes assessment and accountability policies to meet their aspirations. In this talk he will take stock of what has transpired over the last 11 years, relate some lessons he has learned, and speculate about the future of educational measurement.
Dr. Briggs's research focuses upon advancing methods for the measurement and evaluation of student learning.