There Is More to Educational Measurement Than Measuring: The Importance of Embracing Purpose Pluralism

Abstract

The dominant narrative for assessment design seems to reflect a strong, albeit largely implicit undercurrent of purpose purism, which idealizes the principle that assessment design should be driven by a single assessment purpose. With a particular focus on achievement assessments, the present article questions the tenability of purpose purism, explaining how critical decisions—concerning whether to assess, how to specify an assessment construct, and many other design characteristics—require the coordination of multiple perspectives on assessment purposes. It argues the case for purpose pluralism—which idealizes the principle that assessment design should be driven by a multiplicity of assessment purposes simultaneously—not as an occasional, unavoidable concession, but as an organizing principle. The point of explicitly distinguishing between perspectives is to help assessment designers to establish a full complement of design requirements, representing a full range of stakeholder voices; as well as to manage more effectively the trade‐offs and compromises that inevitably arise.