KU to host national experts in teacher accountability at Instructional Sensitivity Conference
LAWRENCE —National experts in educational leadership, policy and assessment will gather in Lawrence Nov. 13-15 to discuss a critical topic in the areas of school accountability and teacher evaluation at the 2013 Instructional Sensitivity Conference (ISC), hosted by the University of Kansas’ Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI).
“The goal is to heighten interest, concern and scholarship within and beyond the educational research community,” AAI Director Neal Kingston said. “Every state is under increased pressure to use student assessment scores in teacher-performance evaluations. Our research tells us that many tests now used might not be appropriate for measuring the effectiveness of teachers. If a test is not sensitive to the students being taught, what is being taught and how it is being taught, it is not a fair way to evaluate students or teachers.”
Featuring more than 20 presenters from across the country and one from Germany, the conference is made possible in part by support from edCount LLC, Iowa Testing Programs, Measured Progress and Renaissance Learning.
Keynote speaker Jim Popham, professor emeritus in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Los Angeles, is one of the foremost authorities on educational assessment, teaching and leadership. In “A Trip To Intolerability,” Popham will address the history of instructional sensitivity research, summarize current issues and controversies, and offer possible paths to improvement.
“America’s current evaluative use of test results is blatantly wrong-headed,” Popham said in describing his talk. “Yet educators, and especially members of the educational measurement community, blissfully tolerate this misusage. The presenter will describe how he became neurotically obsessed with instructional sensitivity and, thereafter, how we might ameliorate today’s intolerable situation.”
The conference will examine a diverse array of issues related to instructional sensitivity. For example:
- Alexander Naumann of the German Institute for International Educational Research will present a psychometric framework for the evaluation of instructional sensitivity.
- Stephen Dunbar and Catherine Welch of Iowa Testing Programs, the University of Iowa, will discuss the question "Does instructional sensitivity plus growth equal growth sensitivity?"
- Alexa Posny of Renaissance Learning will explore the links among instructional sensitivity, appropriate assessment and accountability from the perspective of serving very diverse populations, including special education.
- Kingston and John Fremer of Caveon Test Security will debate the question “Should we evaluate and choose items for state assessments on the basis of their instructional sensitivity?” Ellen Forte, president and founder of edCount LLC, will moderate.
"Because instructional sensitivity underlies so many significant issues, the conference is important. We hope to do more than merely raise awareness. We want the conference to inspire research breakthroughs,” said Stephen Court, partner in Educational Research and Evaluation LLC, and co-chair of the conference’s planning committee. “In turn, we hope that the research breakthroughs will lead to significant improvements in policy, practice and outcomes.”
Learn more and register for the conference. Registration deadline is Friday, Nov. 1.
Presenters and conference staff will live Tweet the event. Follow on Twitter: #ISCatKU.
Established in 2012, AAI is the umbrella organization for four specialized educational research centers at KU. Directed by Kingston, professor in the Department of Psychology and Research in Education in the School of Education, AAI builds partnerships, products and programs in educational practice, assessment and evaluation. These initiatives benefit children, adults, communities and publicly funded agencies at the local, state and national levels.