William H. Angoff Memorial Lecture Series Reports

Most Recent Lecture

The 16th William H. Angoff Memorial Lecture, "Do Educational Assessments Yield Achievement Measurements?" was delivered in March 2017 by Mark Reckase, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Measurement and Quantitative Methods at Michigan State University. The lecture contrasted two different theoretical underpinnings for the interpretation of educational assessment results as measurements.

Download a paper based on the lecture (PDF)
View the full-length video (1 hr., 28 min., 35 sec.) of the lecture.
View the accessible transcript.

View a short video interview (9 min., 12 sec.) in which Professor Reckase discusses two basic types of tests, the continuum model (i.e., measuring height and weight) and the domain model (i.e., how much of a curriculum a student has learned). Professor Reckase discusses the advantages of both test types. He also explains why policymakers sometimes place unrealistic demands on test designers, and the compromises that may be necessary to resolve conflicting demands on achievement tests. In addition, Professor Reckase discusses the difficulty of delivering subscores while at the same time keeping the tests short. View the accessible transcript.

About the Lecture Series

The Angoff Lecture Series was established in 1994 to honor the life and work of William H. Angoff, an ETS research scientist who distinguished himself as a prominent contributor in the field of educational measurement in more than 40 years at ETS. During that time, Angoff authored some of the classic publications on psychometrics, including the definitive text "Scales, Norms, and Equivalent Scores," which appeared in Robert L. Thorndike's Educational Measurement (2nd edition).

The lecture series honors Angoff's legacy by encouraging and supporting the relatively nontechnical discussion of public interest issues related to educational measurement.

Past Lectures

• Evaluating the Quality of Accountability Systems: Beyond Reliability and Validity
  By Dr. Brian Gong (2015)
  Angoff Lecture No. 15
  
  Examines how the evaluation of accountability systems (including school accountability and educator evaluation) should be treated separately from the evaluation of achievement testing.
  • Full-length lecture video (Flash, 1 hr., 26 sec.) 
  • Short video interview (Flash, 10 min.) 
• Reliability And Validity Of Inferences About Teachers Based On Student Test Scores 
  By Edward H. Haertel (2013)
  Angoff Lecture No. 14
  
  Explores the importance of teacher effectiveness and the suitability of value-added models (VAMS) for teacher evaluation.
  • Full-length lecture video (Flash, 1 hr., 58 sec.) 
  • Short video interview (Flash, 6 min., 12 sec.) 

• No Country Left Behind: Rhetoric and Reality of International Large-Scale Assessment
  By Michael J. Feuer (2012)
  Angoff Lecture No. 13

  Focuses on the nature and quality of data from international assessments and why they tend to provoke heated public debates.

• Errors of Measurement, Theory, and Public Policy
  By Michael T. Kane (2010)
  Angoff Lecture No. 12

  Argues that it is important for policymakers to recognize the impact of errors of measurement on test scores and on average scores for groups.

• Schooling, Statistics, and Poverty: Can We Measure School Improvement?
  By Stephen W. Raudenbush (2004)
  Angoff Lecture No. 9

  Examines the limitations of test data to judge school effectiveness and improvement.

• Standards, Assessments, and Educational Policy: In Pursuit of Genuine Accountability
  By Linda Darling-Hammond (2006)
  Angoff Lecture No. 8

  Discusses the circumstances in which standards and assessments in U.S. education undermine or enhance students' opportunities to learn and teachers' capabilities to teach.

• The Second Century of Ability Testing: Some Predictions and Speculations
  By Susan Embretson (2003)
  Angoff Lecture No. 7

  Reviews the major developments in test theory, concepts, and methods that occurred during the 20th century and offers some predictions about future developments.

• The Evolution of Educational Assessment: Considering the Past and Imagining the Future
  By James W. Pellegrino (2004)
  Angoff Lecture No. 6

  Reviews the issues of policy and practice that have had a significant impact on U.S. educational assessment in the 20th century.

• Understanding Educational Quality: Where Validity Meets Technology
  By Eva L. Baker (2000)
  Angoff Lecture No. 5

  Suggests that technology provides a venue and some tools to attack persistent problems in educational assessment.

• National Tests and Education Reform: Are They Compatible?
  By Lyle V. Jones (1997)
  Angoff Lecture No. 4

  Discusses the vigorously debated issue of developing a national test.

• Measuring Achievement: What Does It Mean to Test for Robust Understanding?
  By Lorrie A. Shepard (1997)
  Angoff Lecture No. 3

  Argues for the importance of improving teaching and assessment to help students develop "robust understandings."

• Setting Performance Standards: Content, Goals, and Individual Differences
  By Bert F. Green (1996)
  Angoff Lecture No. 2

  Suggests that standards are poorly understood and that the measurement community faces numerous challenges in identifying methods for standard setting.

• Assessment-Based Reform: Challenges to Educational Measurement
  By Robert L. Linn (1995)
  Angoff Lecture No. 1

  Offers a reasoned review of the promise of well-designed performance assessments, as well as the technical challenges that must be overcome if they are to have a significant, positive impact on reform.