Measurement, like the Academy, bridges disciplines. I am proud to represent measurement with my fellow measurement colleagues in the Academy and beyond. And I look forward to engaging with Academy members and the public about the growing importance of measurement for knowledge and democracy. 3/3
Screenshot of a webpage list titled ‘American Academy of Arts and Sciences — Class III: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Section 7: Education’ with the note ‘Current Fellows and International Honorary Members are listed below.’ Beneath the heading is a three-column roster of names of fellows (e.g., Walter R. Allen, James D. Anderson, Henry L. Braun, Linda Darling-Hammond, David Gilborn, Bridget Terry Long, Jeanne B. Resnick, Linda Tuhiwai Te Rina Smith, James P. Spillane, Hirokazu Yoshikawa), indicating the Education section membership list.
In seriousness, the history of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is inspiring, including its early honorees in measurement: Thurstone, Thorndike, Stevens, Cronbach, Meehl, Luce, Suppes, Tversky, Campbell, et al.
Recent inductees include Bollen, Braun, and my fellow 2026 inductee Eva Baker. 2
Side-by-side screenshot. Left: excerpt from an American Academy of Arts & Sciences press release dated April 22, 2026 (Cambridge, MA) announcing newly elected members, with a bulleted list that includes actor and filmmaker Jodie Foster and psychometrician Andrew D. Ho (Harvard Graduate School of Education). Right: photo of a person speaking at a podium in front of a red backdrop; a caption at the bottom reads, ‘So I am a psycho magician.’
I am sure this is the first and last time I'll be in the same press release as Jodie Foster and Colson Whitehead.
Honored and grateful beyond measure.
And hopeful that landing "psychometrician" in another press release will help improve future captioning.
www.amacad.org/news/new-mem... 1/3
Side-by-side image. Left: a conference room full of seated state agency representatives facing a stage, where a speaker stands at a podium in front of several U.S. flags and a blue curtain backdrop. Right: a slide titled ‘Assessments and Audiences’ with three columns—Summative, Interim, and Formative—listing intended audiences. Summative includes state policymakers, public, media, district leaders, school leaders, teachers, and families; Interim lists district leaders, school leaders, teachers, and families; Formative lists teachers and students.
In DC Wednesday, 46 agencies debated the 3 As of state testing: Assessment, Accountability, and AI. One breakout with @drmariannep.bsky.social, Allison Timberlake, and Asst Sec Kirsten Baesler dared to ask, who are state summative tests for? Can we *reduce* audiences? To do more, should we do less?
LOL, it would be a tough landing. It was only 5 minutes, but I can chat more if you have questions. I can share the chapter it cites when it's published, too. My teaching next year will be as experimental as 2020 (when I revamped my courses for zoom) if not more. docs.google.com/presentation...
Side-by-side image. Left: the first page of an article in T.E.R.M. (Teaching Educational Research Methods), Volume 1 Issue 1 (Spring 2026), titled ‘The Five Gs for Teaching Statistics: Greek, Graphs, Grammar, Gadgets, and Games’ by Andrew Dean Ho (Harvard Graduate School of Education), with the abstract visible. Right: a photo of a pegboard-style learning "gadget" with colored pins and elastic bands forming a scatterplot, with a best-fit regression line as a dowel and rubber bands representing ordinary least squares residuals.
I wrote about how I teach statistics. As I redesign for the AI era, I won't forget the benefits of multimodal, tangible representations.
The Five Gs: Greek, Graphs, Grammar, Gadgets, and Games.
In the new journal, Teaching Educational Research Methods: doi.org/10.5149/term...
The story of ed tech is a repeated loop of massive hype and massive disappointment
See MOOCs, and now AI
Evidence can interrupt this unproductive cycle
The Stanford SCALE Initiative, led by rock star Prof Susanna Loeb, brings evidence to the conversation scale.stanford.edu/sites/defaul...
Woohoo, here's my essay with my fav co-author on 30,000 fellowship wins across the Guggenheim, Stanford CASBS, NAEd, National Humanities Center, RSF visiting scholar, and Harvard Radcliffe.
Spoiler: it's the people working at prestigious universities
www.publicbooks.org/who-gets-gug...
Slide titled "Three cautions as we advance measurement training in the AI era." Three numbered items, each with a bold heading followed by a supporting sentence in smaller text. (1) The "Curse of Knowledge": An expert's AI use rests on foundations novices have not yet built. (2) Evidence Over Ego: Early guidance on teaching new technologies is often wrong (Reich & Dukes, 2025). Be skeptical of advocates repackaging what they were already selling. (3) Learning is Still Relational: EdTech keeps building for the "roaming autodidact" (Cottom, 2016). Most learners are not this person (Watters, 2021). Slide footer reads: Andrew Ho, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Thursday at 7:45am at #NCME26: How do we teach measurement differently in the AI era? I suggest experimentation with caution, following @bjfr.bsky.social, @tressiemcphd.bsky.social, @audreywatters.bsky.social, and lessons learned from my MOOC days.
Session: www.xcdsystem.com/ncme/program...
I like the app, too! But I like having the printout for its feel, for page-flipping, and as a memento.
The registration desk should have you covered! Thank you for your support, Alex. bsky.app/profile/andr...
Graphic announcing ‘The NCME Endowment: A Fund for Measurement Excellence and Integrity.’ Text says the NCME Board and Past Presidents are launching a permanent endowment and invites donations toward a $150,000 campaign, aiming to reach the goal by the Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, April 8–11, 2026. Three headings highlight benefits: Lasting Impact (support scholarship, practice, and talent development), Secure Legacy (names/dedications linked to NCME’s story), and Join Fellow Leaders (Board and Past Presidents have seeded the fund).
Photo of a tabletop filled with many small, smiling NCME plush toys in pastel colors (green, yellow, and blue), each with stitched faces and a small tag/loop, arranged in rows as giveaway items.
As my board term ends, I am supporting NCME's new endowment towards its $150K goal. I hope you will join me. You can also donate anonymously or in honor of a mentor. (And you can pick up your plushies at the NCME registration desk!) #NCME26 @ncme38.bsky.social
Donate: ncme.org/donate/the-n...
Photo of a desk with a thick, printed and binder-clipped copy of the NCME 2026 Annual Meeting program. The cover reads ‘Moving Measurement Forward’ and ‘2026 Annual Meeting NCME — Los Angeles’ with a blue skyline graphic. Behind the stack are two small plush toys with smiling faces and a computer keyboard, emphasizing the ritual of printing the conference program to read on paper.
My annual ritual: Printing the #NCME26 program. Available here for other folks who miss the feel of paper and don't mind risking last-minute updates: ncme.org/wp-content/u...
Looking forward to seeing great work in LA and being together in person! @ncme38.bsky.social
Screenshot of an NCME 2026 program listing for a coordinated paper session titled ‘TACtics: The Future of Technical Advisory Committees for State Testing Programs.’ The header shows Fri, April 10, 11:30 AM–12:45 PM, location Roosevelt A. The description explains that State Technical Advisory Committees (State TACs) play an important, often unsung role in validating and monitoring state testing programs, and previews perspectives from a TAC member, a state assessment director, a vendor, and a facilitator; it also notes an effort to honor 100+ NCME members who serve on State TACs. The session lists Chair: Susan Lyons (Lyons Assessment Consulting) and Discussant: Juan D’Brot IV, Ph.D. (Center for Assessment). Below is a list of presentations, including ‘The State of the State TAC…’, ‘Defining the Moment…’, ‘TACs from the State Agency Perspective…’, and ‘State TACs from the Vendor Side…’, with author names shown under each title.
What is a State TAC? Who serves on TACs? Why are TACs important *now*? On Friday, we discuss our effort to honor TAC service and consider the future of this important, unsung role in state test validation. #NCME26 @derekbriggs.bsky.social www.xcdsystem.com/ncme/program... ncme.org/involvement/...
Screenshot of an NCME 2026 program listing for a coordinated paper session titled ‘Apples and Oranges? Comparing NAEP and State Trends Through Policies and Pandemics.’ Scheduled for Thursday, April 9, 11:30 AM–12:45 PM in Westwood. The description discusses challenges in comparing NAEP and state test trend lines over time and introduces methods to compare trends while accounting for imprecision. Chair: Benjamin R. Shear (University of Colorado Boulder). Discussant: Peggy Carr (Former Commissioner, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education). The presentations listed include ‘Broken Bridges: State Test Score Trend Lines Through Policies and Pandemics,’ ‘Precision-Adjusted Models for Comparing State and NAEP Test Score Trends,’ ‘The North Star? An Appropriate Role for NAEP in the Post-Pandemic Era,’ and ‘Challenges and Solutions in Maintaining and Explaining State Test Score Trends.
Q: If a state starts a new test, how long would you bet it lasts? Thursday at #NCME26 we show that the over/under is 4 years. We present a model that harnesses both state & NAEP trends and discuss. w/sean reardon, Ben Shear, Peggy Carr, Scott Marion, Chris Rozunick. www.xcdsystem.com/ncme/program...
Screenshot of an NCME 2026 program listing for a coordinated paper session titled ‘Assessing Foundational Competencies: Advancing Educational Measurement through Feedback, Alignment, and Certification.’ The session is scheduled for Saturday, April 11, 11:30 AM–1:00 PM in Westwood. The description notes the symposium will examine how NCME’s Foundational Competencies in Educational Measurement (FCEM) can support assessment for feedback, curricular alignment, and certification, including discussion of using AI. The listing shows Chair: Andrew Ho (Harvard University) and Discussant: Wenchao Ma (University of Minnesota), followed by presentation titles on AI and FCEMs, competence and feedback, certifying measurement professionals, and graduate-program alignment with foundational competencies.
A few #NCME26 Highlights: We're putting NCME's Foundational Competencies (FCEMs) to the test! Next Saturday, we ask how FCEMs intersect with AI, feedback, certification, and curricular alignment, with @derekbriggs.bsky.social, Ana, Susan, Brian, and Wenchao. www.xcdsystem.com/ncme/program...
Good idea! A review of the general topic here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1... Studies of item position effects in NAEP, specifically, date back to the NAEP Reading Anomaly in the 1980s, but we could track effects and see if they are worsening. Plenty of other NAEP Process Data, too!
Screenshot of an NCME award announcement. Left side text explains that the Brenda H. Lloyd Outstanding Dissertation Award honors an outstanding dissertation in educational measurement and states that the 2026 recipient is Dr. Lily An (Harvard University) for the dissertation titled ‘Measurement in K–12 Policy Analysis,’ noting it shows how methodological and measurement decisions shape high-stakes policy interpretations and outcomes. Right side shows a professional headshot of a smiling woman against a brick background.
Congratulations to Lily An, GSU Prof. and @harvardeducation.bsky.social graduate, recipient of the 2026 @ncme38.bsky.social Outstanding Dissertation Award! From RDD to CSI to VAM, her dissertation shows how measurement matters in policy analysis. @lmiratrix.bsky.social @clconaway.bsky.social et al.
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