Categories: Future of School: The PodcastOne Big Idea - Future of School

One Big Idea: Ray McNulty on Replacing Standardized Testing

If you could share One Big Idea to change the future of education, what would it be?

In the sixth episode of our One Big Idea series, we hear from Ray McNulty, President of the Successful Practices Network. In his career, McNulty has served at the school, district, and state levels – as a teacher, principal, superintendent, and commissioner of education of Vermont; is a past president of the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE); was senior fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and was previously the dean at the School of Education at Southern New Hampshire University, which was named the 12th most innovative organization in the world by FAST Company Magazine.

Ray’s One Big Idea proposes that we must dramatically rethink the way assessment is used, as he describes the shortcomings of the high-stakes standardized testing environment that is used to measure students and teachers. “I don’t hear parents coming up to me and saying ‘I want my child to be an incredibly good test-taker,’” he says, later adding, “We’ve made assessment an incredibly dangerous thing to learning.” Ray talks about the importance of well-rounded development, including how students are developing their character, and how schools should be promoting continuous growth in all areas. When testing is presented with such high stakes that it will mark students as a “success” or “failure,” it is counterproductive to learning. “We have to move to a growth model. We have to move to a growth perspective. We have to move to multiple measures, and not this one assessment,” he says.

What’s your One Big Idea to transform education? Connect with us on social media or on our website, www.futureof.school, to share! Follow Future of School on Twitter @futureof_school and follow Amy Valentine @amyvalentine555.

Learn more about Future of School and its mission to mobilize change in American K-12 education from a one-size-fits-all system to one that ensures all students reach their unbounded potential no matter where their learning takes place at www.futureof.school.

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Amy Valentine: Author

Amy Valentine is the Chief Executive Officer and Education Evangelist of Future of School, a national nonprofit organization designed to support the growth of innovative school models integrating blended and online learning. Prior to guiding Future of School’s incubation and launch, Amy managed a portfolio of Colorado schools where she led academic and operational turnaround strategy. She also previously served as executive director for a network of Nobel Learning Communities schools in California.

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EdCircuit Staff: Author

edCircuit is a mission-based organization entirely focused on the K-20 EdTech Industry and emPowering the voices that can provide guidance and expertise in facilitating the appropriate usage of digital technology in education. Our goal is to elevate the voices of today’s innovative thought leaders and edtech experts. Subscribe to receive notifications in your inbox

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Ray McNulty: Author

Raymond J. McNulty is the President of the National Dropout Prevention Center (NDPC), and the Successful Practices Network (SPN). Prior to that, Ray was Dean for the School of Education at Southern New Hampshire University which Fast Company magazine named the 12th most innovative organization in the world in its World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. Ray has served as the President of the International Center for Leadership in Education and was also the Chief Learning Officer for Penn Foster, a global leader in online education. Ray has been a Program Director and Senior Fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he worked with leading educators on improving our nation’s high schools. On an international level he serves as a senior member of the Aspirations Academy Trust in London England. The Trust operates 15 Academy schools in Southern England focused on 21st century skills and learner success in the global world. Ray is a past president of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) and author of It’s Not Us Against Them — Creating the Schools We Need, published in 2009 by the International Center.

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