Alongside such tests, however, schools could randomly assess some small fraction of the students—one per class, say, or one in a hundred—using a different evaluation method, perhaps something like an essay or an oral exam. (Since only a few students would be tested this way, having this secondary method scale well is not a big concern.) The standardized tests would provide immediate feedback—you could have students take a short computerized exam every week and chart the class’s progress almost in real time, for instance—while the secondary data points would serve to cross-validate: to make
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