FAQ

I’m a cognitive developmental psychologist and test developer. When I say I develop tests, I mean that I develop tools that help students learn while helping teachers identify what students are most likely to benefit from learning next.

I received my Ph.D at the University of California at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education. My dissertation, entitled, “A good education is…,” was a lifespan study of how people’s conceptions of education develop between the ages of 4 and 84. It won two dissertation awards, one from Berkeley, and one from the APA. I went on to do a postdoctoral project in which I demonstrated the feasibility of an automated method for evaluating the developmental level of verbal performances.

Since then I have taught at Harvard and Hampshire College, and have published a (still) growing number of scholarly articles about assessment and learning. In 2006, I left the academy to work full-time on DiscoTest, an initiative that provides FREE tests (my kind) to public school students and their teachers, and the Developmental Testing Service, which focuses on adult assessment and research. Today, I work with a growing group of like-minded colleagues, studying how people learn specific concepts and skills over the course of the lifespan, and turning what we learn into curricula and assessments.

Why am I blogging?

There are a few reasons, but the main reason is to begin providing answers to the questions that fill my inbox each morning, starting with the most frequently asked questions. Entries will not be static; I will add to them over time with the intention of making them clearer, more accurate, and more comprehensive.

Please ask for clarification and share your knowledge and ideas

I’m depending on readers of this blog to provide me with requests for clarification and new knowledge or ideas.

Over time, I hope the answers and discussions on this blog will become a useful resource for people who work with assessments of all kinds.

Please respect my copyright on the posts on this site. If you would like to quote me in a public forum, please cite me appropriately—and please let me know.

Theo