To Assess, To Teach, To Learn: A Vision for the Future of Assessment (Executive Summary)
The Gordon Commission is a group of distinguished scholars and educational leaders who examine educational assessment policy, practice, and technology. The commission looks to “produce a vision for assessment that is fair and beneficial to improving U.S. education and which will advance technology to improve educational measurement and student achievement.” This Executive Summary summarizes essays on educational assessment from prominent scholars that appear in the full technical report (as well as the Commission’s website). Additionally, in the Executive Summary, Edmund Gordon and Jim Pellegrino provide conclusions on findings from the technical report and offer recommendations for policymakers concerning education and its assessment.
This executive summary of the work of the Gordon Commission on a Vision for the Future of Education provides valuable perspectives from national assessment leaders and experts in the field. Its content and series of related papers on multiple topics related to future assessment issues are insightful and valuable in considering changes in assessment practice. The perspective of the Commission is seen through the following statement: “We believe that assessment in education can and should inform and improve teaching and learning processes and outcomes, without ignoring the importance of accountability. Whether the two purposes can be served concurrently and by the same assessment instruments and systems is one of the questions to be answered.”