Daniel Koretz

Daniel Koretz

Professor of Education, Harvard

Daniel Koretz is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education.  He focuses his research primarily on educational assessment, particularly as a tool of education policy. A primary emphasis in his work has been the effects of high-stakes testing, including effects on schooling and the validity of score gains. His research has included studies of the effects of testing programs, the assessment of students with disabilities, international differences in the variability of student achievement, the application of value-added models to educational achievement, and the development of methods for validating scores under high-stakes conditions. His current work focuses on the design and evaluation of test-focused educational accountability systems. Dr. Koretz founded and chairs the International Project for the Study of Educational Accountability, an international network of scholars investigating improved approaches to educational accountability. Dr. Koretz is a member of the National Academy of Education. His doctorate is in developmental psychology from Cornell University. Before obtaining his degree, Dr. Koretz taught emotionally disturbed students in public elementary and junior high schools.

7 min
Daniel Koretz has seen a steady trend toward arbitrarily high graduation standards even for kids with cognitive disabilities.
5 min
Daniel Koretz believes fostering accountability in the system will, in turn, foster critical twenty-first century skills.
3 min
Daniel Koretz sought to disabuse us of the myths surrounding testing and foster public debate about purpose in education.
5 min
Daniel Koretz distrusts grading more than he distrusts the SAT.
2 min
Daniel Koretz sees a problem when the system places skilled teachers in the schools that least need them.
4 min
Some measures of intelligence cannot be executed through testing alone, Daniel Koretz says.
2 min
A gap exists, Daniel Koretz admits, but he wonders how much of technology is used for educational purposes.