Andrew Ho

Screenshot of the first page of a memo from the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University to Senate HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy and members, responding to a request for information on school-level academic growth indicators (dated February 13, 2026). The page lists ‘Federal Options: From Immediate to Ambitious,’ including options to restore and improve EDFacts data quality, use EDFacts for growth, use NAEP as a national growth-linking infrastructure (with recommendations to pilot Growth-NAEP and embed NAEP items in state assessments), and expand measurement in early grades. A section titled ‘The Federal Role: Data Collection and Transparency, Not Mandates’ lists bullets such as collecting data, establishing transparency standards, supporting R&D, and convening experts.

We must use and improve the growth data we have. Our SEDA team responds to the Senate RFI on school-level growth indicators with 4+ recommendations, including restoring and improving EDFacts, harnessing NAEP, and incentivizing K-2 growth measurement: edopportunity.org/papers/EOP%2...

Screenshot of the ‘Next Gen NAEP’ webpage. The top shows the Next Gen NAEP logo with a gold star. Below, a heading reads ‘Modernizing and Improving the Nation’s Report Card,’ describing Next Gen NAEP as an initiative to modernize NAEP while maintaining its gold-standard reputation and focusing on student learning trends. A short paragraph explains that NAEP is the only common national measure of what U.S. students know and can do. A bulleted list outlines key questions for the initiative, including using technology and AI to speed development and reporting, modernizing the platform and infrastructure, making data easier to access, realizing cost savings to expand state-level reporting, and reducing burden on students, schools, and districts.

I'm proud to join this initiative, my 3rd "Future of NAEP"-type effort in 15 years, and one with particular urgency and promise.
Future of NAEP I: nces.ed.gov/nationsrepor...
Future of NAEP II: www.nationalacademies.org/publications...
Future of NAEP III: www.nagb.gov/powered-by-n...

Crowded outdoor reception at the 2025 NCME annual meeting. A person in the foreground takes a smiling selfie on a sunny patio, with two other attendees posing nearby and many more people mingling, talking, and holding drinks in the background. Conference name badges are visible on several attendees, and high-top tables are scattered around the space, representing the 200+ people who attended the presidential reception.

NCME folks, remember to stay for the Presidential Closing Reception on Saturday! Food and drinks, and you'll be able to see great work at the tail end of the program (and mine!). Maybe I'll see you on the redeye that night?😴

Preliminary Program @ncme38.bsky.social: www.xcdsystem.com/ncme/program...

Screenshot of a four-person Zoom panel for the NCME ‘Future of K12’ webinar. The moderator and three panelists appear in a 2x2 grid, each in a home or office setting, speaking directly to the camera. The top-left participant sits in front of bookshelves and a monitor; the top-right participant is in a bright dining room with large windows; the bottom-left participant is in a living room with plants, artwork, and ceiling fan; the bottom-right participant is in an office with a bookshelf and framed pictures on the wall.

Excellent NCME webinar on testing policy, including "thinking big" about innovative assessment, the recent growth model RFI, and what we want to save (and improve) about NAEP. With Lily An, Allison Timberlake, Chris Domaleski, and Suzanne Lane via NCME's Committee on Informing Assessment Policy.

Screenshot of an email to NCME members announcing the 2026 election results for the National Council on Measurement in Education Board of Directors. The email thanks colleagues who agreed to run and lists the winners: Vice President/President-Elect – Susan Davis-Becker, ACS Ventures; Representative of a State or Federal Agency or Organization – Chris Rozunick, Texas Education Agency; Board Member at Large – Laura Hamilton, The National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment. It congratulates these forthcoming Board members, notes they will be welcomed at the 2026 NCME Annual Meeting, thanks the Nominations & Elections Committee, and closes with ‘See you all in Los Angeles!’ followed by the signature: Amy Hendrickson, NCME President, National Council on Measurement in Education.

Congratulations to the next elected leaders of the National Council on Measurement in Education, @laurashamilton.bsky.social, Chris Rozunick, and (VP then President in 2027), Susan-Davis Becker! As I rotate off the board in April, I am proud to leave @ncme38.bsky.social in such good hands.

I think that’s exactly the right setup. It’s the same reason I draw from homework assignments they’ve already completed in writing. Please share any lessons you learn. Always trying to improve my approach, too.

Mine, too. I think the idea behind the assessment is that it encourages students to practice and improve their speaking, and me to give them feedback and opportunities to learn. This is important because it is also what we do when we give talks, field questions, teach, and interact in our work.

To me, it is not different from students who are multilingual and completing written assignments. They may need extra time and support. But, at the end of the day, these communication skills, both written and oral, are important, job-relevant learning goals worth teaching, practicing, and assessing.

Teaching a new prep but it's an established class. The prior instructor assigned an annotated bib as the final. Given the agentic LLM chatbot of it all, I don't think I can do that. So now I gotta figure out how doc students can show me (and themselves) that they've learned some things.

Here are my oral exam notes. bit.ly/andrewhoccl I think the keys are 1) emphasizing that oral communication is an explicit learning goal (it's "construct relevant"), 2) giving plenty of OTL (I draw from HWs they've already done), and 3) picking modest weights (~15%). Would love to hear how yours go!

At our NCME "Cafe AI" today, I heard how many colleagues are now 1) piloting oral exams, 2) requiring interviews for PhD finalists, and 3) using cold/warm-calling techniques in class. AI is inspiring new emphasis on communication skills. Thanks to NCME's "Educators of Measurement" SIG for hosting!

Your NCME vote (due 1/15) matters! Recent boards have: 1) invested in open access (e.g. EM5), 2) sued to protect US measurement data, 3) created new travel grants for students, 4) launched special conferences (AIME), and 5) created a 6-figure endowment. Vote to shape our future! @ncme38.bsky.social

Echoing @mpolikoff.bsky.social here- @bethschueler.bsky.social is wonderful and if you are looking for a postdoc in politics of education check this out

Also, I noticed a sad signal of the demise of Academic Twitter: Rick retired the social media score after the 2023 rankings: www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

Who Are the Nation's Top Education Scholars? (Opinion) The RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings recognize researchers who shape practice and policy.

For all their (self-admitted) flaws, if RHSU rankings nudge top scholars toward improving public communication, that's a net win to me.
I described my own early communication stumbles in my @ncme38.bsky.social Presidential Address: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDQx...
www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

Test-based accountability has always fascinated me. When and how do we make test scores *really* matter, and for better or for worse? It was great to dive deep with @mpolikoff.bsky.social, in our chapter on pages 1113-1188 in "the handbook of our field," EM5! fdslive.oup.com/www.oup.com/...

I wrote the Foreword to EM5 as @ncme38.bsky.social President when it went to press. I thanked the herculean service of 103+ members over seven years, and Susan Trent, in Steve Ferrara's memory, who helped make this freely accessible to all to download, read, and cite: global.oup.com/academic/pro...

I asked my fantasy football league to donate to an endowment I helped launch, NCME's "Fund for Measurement Excellence and Integrity." They responded generously (see lower left). I assume this is related to our move to decimal scoring this year. @ncme38.bsky.social
ncme.org/donate/the-n...

In my appreciation for the outpouring of support for the new NCME Endowment, I also mention equal-interval scales and, of course, normal distribution plushies.

I welcome others to contribute. We're halfway to our 12/31 goal!
ncme.org/donate/the-n...

NCME elections are open. You can tell the strength of an organization by the quality of those who stand to lead it. We had excellent nominees, as this final slate reflects.

Voting members, please read their statements here, and vote by 1/15. @ncme38.bsky.social
ncme.org/about/board-...

This is great! Mark's framing is similar to mine: Oral exams encourage important, complementary skills and were a worthy method even before AI (I started in 2018). And they're a memorable experience for students and faculty alike, like deep conversations should be. @mememedianmode.bsky.social

International Listing of Graduate Programs The Psychometric Society and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) are jointly leading an effort to create and maintain an international listing of graduate programs that support psy...

NCME and the Psychometric Society are partnering to list graduate programs in measurement and psychometrics throughout the world. As a 20+year member of both organizations, I am proud of this joint effort. @ncme38.bsky.social @pmetricsoc.bsky.social
Survey here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

This is a really lovely, even elegiac, reflection by Charlie on TACs as a form of oral tradition, "stories that must be told time and time again." More than stories, he also likens them to instruments in concert, benefitting from a conductor. I agree.

I hope NCME's list provokes further reflection.

Strictly speaking, they're distributed at in-person NCME events. The next official meeting is AERA/NCME in April in LA. But if you're ever in Boston, or if I'm ever in DC, we could arrange an exchange :-)

LOL, anyone can support the NCME Endowment! But I'll send you an email, Dan :-)

No Christmas tree is complete without an NCME normal distribution plushie! Support the new @NCME38 Endowment and increase average holiday spirit by 0.3 standard deviation units!* (Pick ups from me at Harvard are welcome for those local :-)
ncme.org/donate/the-n...
* n=1

Support measurement in perpetuity. I am proud to launch and support the *new* NCME Endowment, so our students' students will have the same excellent community and scholarship that benefitted me.

Please donate, whether $25 or $250, towards our 12/31 goal
ncme.org/donate/the-n... @ncme38.bsky.social

Looking for faculty positions in measurement? The NCME map is as helpful post-PhD as it is pre-. Click the link of a good spot and find their "jobs" or "employment" page. Nothing this year? You can monitor over time.
ncme.org/students/gra...
See also the NCME Career Center: ncme.org/resources/ca...

Applying to a PhD in measurement? Remember to look beyond "the usual suspects" to great programs in N. America and beyond, including these from @ncme38.bsky.social: ncme.org/students/gra...

ICYMI, here is my advice for @harvardeducation.bsky.social: andrewho.scholars.harvard.edu/sites/g/file...