About
The Beyond Test Scores Project works to strengthen public education and advance equity through more humane assessment.
Standardized test scores measure only a fraction of what we all agree schools should do. Moreover, they often tell us more about student background variables than they do about school quality. If we’re serious about collecting data about student learning and school performance, it’s time to look beyond test scores.
The Beyond Test Scores Project works with educators and communities across the United States to build fairer, more accurate, and more comprehensive measures of school quality. BTS also works with policy leaders and educational researchers to use data more responsibly and more democratically.
Jack Schneider is the Executive Director of the Beyond Test Scores Project. Dr. Schneider studies the influence of politics, rhetoric, culture, and information in shaping attitudes and behaviors. His work explores why particular ideas gain policy traction, how public perceptions of schools take shape, why education reform so often fails, and how organizations can use data to empower stakeholders. He is the author of five books, and his research has appeared in journals like AERA Open, the American Journal of Education, Educational Policy, the Harvard Educational Review, the Journal of Education Policy, the Journal of Teacher Education, and Teachers College Record.
The Beyond Test Scores Project is based at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. UMass's College of Education conducts forward-thinking research that informs decisions at every level of education. UMass research promotes policies, practices, and partnerships that support the creation of educational systems and communities that are diverse, just, meaningful, and impactful.
Staff
Jack Schneider, Executive Director, schneider@educ.umass.edu
Peter Piazza, Associate Director, peter@edcommonwealth.org
Ashley Carey, Assistant Director, ashleycarey@umass.edu
Research Assistants
Derrick Dzormeku, University of Massachusetts Lowell, derrick_dzormeku@student.uml.edu
James Fargnoli, University of Massachusetts Lowell, james_fargnoli@student.uml.edu
Abeer Hakouz, University of Massachusetts Lowell, abeer_hakouz@student.uml.edu
Cassandra McCallum, University of Massachusetts Lowell, cassandra_mccallum@student.uml.edu
Kara McGovern, University of Massachusetts Lowell, karalyn_mcgovern@student.uml.edu
Melanie Pavao, University of Massachusetts Lowell, melanie_pavao@student.uml.edu
Research Partners
Pablo Bezem, University of Massachusetts Lowell, pablo_bezem@uml.edu
Mark Hsu, University of Massachusetts Lowell, hsienyuan_hsu@uml.edu
James Noonan, EdD, Salem State University, jnoonan@salemstate.edu
Ricardo D. Rosa, PhD, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, rrosa2@umassd.edu
Julie Spencer-Robinson, Education Commonwealth Project, julie@ecp.org
Rachel S. White, PhD, University of Tennessee Knoxville, rswhite@utk.edu
Elizabeth Zumpe, PhD, University of Oklahoma Tulsa, elizabeth.a.zumpe-1@ou.edu