We had a great time at the joint Campus Technology 2010 / AAEEBL Conference in Boston a few weeks ago. Apparently Trent Batson didn’t need much rest after running his first AAEEBL conference – he’s got a great piece in Campus Technology today comparing testing of students to the legal system.
While I like his overall point, and his combative and inspiring logic, the assumption that our current “evidence-based” system of law is effective ends up undermining our quest for alternatives to standardized tests. Eyewitness testimony has been largely discredited, along with the procedures for police line-ups still in use by many municipalities and states. So are ePortfolio initiatives and other ‘authentic’ approaches to assessment any different from our flawed, evidence-based system of law? The comparison is a rich and complex one, and perhaps leads to more conclusions than Trent had in mind…
Update from the August 13 2010 New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/us/13exonerate.html?_r=1&hp
