In the News
In his new column for Forbes, MƒA President John Ewing starts an honest discussion about accountability, based on knowledge and expertise rather than slogans. In his piece, Ewing shares his take on test-based accountability and writes why reformers need to educate themselves about metrics and assessments.
“Emphasizing accountability is one of those brilliant marketing ploys we've come to expect in our modern age. Like all marketing, however, it's shallow. For what exactly are educators to be held accountable? Shouldn't we worry about goals and outcomes rather than actions? Which outcomes? Only those things that can be counted? And should we hold each educator responsible for outcomes for each student?”
To learn more, Ewing provides two powerful book recommendations that he says offer the missing knowledge and background needed for a sensible debate around accountability:
- The Tyranny of Metrics by Jerry Z. Muller (2018)
- The Testing Charade by Daniel Koretz (2017)
He adds, “These are not polemicists, unalterably opposed to the objects of their study. Muller includes a final chapter that provides a checklist for appropriately using metrics. Koretz reminds the reader (frequently) that tests are not only valuable but essential. He makes his living on assessment.
People might still disagree after reading these books, but at least they'd understand why they disagreed.”
Read Ewing’s full column in Forbes.