We’re thrilled to be gathering a full presentation of design research — plus expert respondents from the worlds of assessment. As a preview, here is our abstract:
ECDemocratized: A Democratization of Educational Assessment
Abstract: How might assessment be democratized and made more meaningful, especially for students? Too often, assessment is separated from the pleasures of learning, like a painful test after the game, or worse, a boring class. We introduce a design experiment with iPad graphics and user narratives called ECDemocratized. It blends the statistical rigor of Evidence-Centered Design, with a power shift to give students new agency over their assessment. It is designed for extended activities, like Rube-Goldberg engineering labs. While ECDemocratized is not a game, it will draw on lessons from games about mediating feedback and gathering data as part of player engagement. Panel respondents will challenge and critique ECDemocratized from two vantages: one is a senior literacy theorist in education, and the other is a psychometrician who has expertise in ECD-based assessments. Can assessment design be truly engaging, and even be a learning opportunity? Let’s find out.