President’s Report
Greetings colleagues. I hope this newsletter finds you hale and hearty. We just survived the great snow/ice of 1988 her in Garland. Most of us are still intact, functioning, and as incapable as ever at trying to drive our cars on icy roads. Texas drivers just don’t do well in snow and ice.
Several conferences and conventions are taking place around the country in the near future. The Southwest Educational Research Association (SERA) just had a successful meeting in San Antonio. The Second Annual Texas Testing Conference is coming up in March (7-9) in Austin. Our Vice-President and President-Elect Paul LeMahieu, form Pittsburgh, will be one the principal speakers. A number of our members are planning to attend this conference and I look forward to seeing them there. And, of course, we are all getting excited about AERA in New Orleans. I understand we have a good NATD program set, thanks to Paul LeMahieu.
Kudos to Peter Wolmut for his stellar job with the 1987 Symposia and to Grace Iverson for her hard work and patience getting our newsletters out. Thanks also to Janie Hall for her help with the mailing.
A conference is scheduled for the Joint Committee on Testing Practices. The forum is to be held March 7 and 8, 1988, at the Bethesda (Pooks Hill) Marriott in Rocksville, Maryland. I hope we will have at least one representative from NATD in attendance. I am attaching a draft copy of the Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education for your perusal.
I personally can not agree with several of the items as presented in this “Draft for Review-January 1988” copy. Methinks the air has become a trifle too rarified in someone’s ivory tower, especially in Section D, Informing test-takers. There is no need whatsoever of expending the time, energy, and money necessary to routinely provide “a priori”the information suggested. There must be other ways of achieving true fairness. Do school districts really want to mount a major campaign to educate test-takers, parents, etc., as to how they should register complaints? Agree or disagree with them as presented, and write to some of the folks serving on the committee. Feel free to share your opinion with me and the other NATD officers.
Speaking of officers, we have an excellent set of nominees to consider for next year.
Janie Hall mentioned to me that she had some thoughts for consideration
regarding changes in our constitution. She is going to forward them
to me in writing. If you have any item that you wish to be presented to
the membership at the meeting in New Orleans, send them to me. I
will try to get a letter to the membership with the information.
(Send them soon!)
As always, we can look forward to the excellent Riverside Publishing
Company sponsored dinner on the second evening of AERA (Wednesday, April,
6 1988) and to the SRA sponsored breakfast, that very morning.
I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Sincerely,
Mike Strozeski, Ph.D
NATD PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
In the last NATD newsletter, descriptions of the NATD symposia and sessions were offered. There is every reason to look forward to an interesting and productive meeting. To help you organize your calendars, we offer the following summary of events of interest to NATD’ers:
Wednesday, April 6 NATD Membership Breakfast Rythms Restaurant
7:30 – 9:30 a.m. Hosted by: Sheraton
Hotel
Science Research Associates
Wednesday, April 6 Multipurpose Testing: Can
Sheraton Hotel
12:25 – 1:55 p.m. One Test Serve Two Maters? Esterwood
Room
an NATD Symposium organized by
Valeria Ford, Washington, DC
Public Schools
Wednesday, April 6 NATD Business and Membership Sheraton
Hotel
2:15 – 3:45 p.m. Meeting – Mike Strozeski Esterwood
Room
Garland, TX, ISD, President
Wednesday, April 6 NATD Reception and Dinner Arnaud’s Restaurant
6:30 p.m. – Reception Hosted by the Riverside 2nd
Floor
7:15 p.m. – Dinner Publishing company for
NATD Members (by invitation only)
Thursday, April 7 NCME breakfast Marriott
Hotel
8:00 – 9:00 a.m. Mardi Gras
D
Thursday, April 7 NCME Business and Membership Marriott
Hotel
9:00 – 10:15 a.m. Meeting Mardi
Gras H
Friday, April 8 AERA Division H – Breakfast Sheraton
Hotel
8:15 – 10:45 a.m. and Business Meeting Pontchartrain
B
Friday, April 8 customization of a National
Sheraton Hotel
10:35 a.m. – 12:05 p.m. Standardized Achievement Test Esterwood
Room
an NATD symposium organized by
Jane Canner, New York City Board of Education
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