Humility is a core of Rigorous Test Development (RTD). This likely appears odd to a lot of people, considering how arrogant we are about RTD, the confidence with which I (in particular) often speak, and the even greater and more frequent confidence that people here in my voice. My collaborator often speaks with confidence as well — though as a woman, she faces greater potential penalty for doing so.
And yet, we believe very strongly in the value off humility in the work.
In fact, we believe that our humility in the work is not at odds with our our confidence — or even my arrogance. Rather, our humility helps to support our confidence.
First, we preach that professionals should be very mindful of the limits of their expertise. They should know when they speaking outside of their expertise. Even when they could justify some claims too expertise to people who might not know better, if they themselves know that the topic is outside their expertise, they should speak much more cautiously. For example, we know a lot about assessment, but we know quite a bit less about large scale performance assessment. We know a lot about scoring, but we know far less about large scale administration of tests.
Second, we think that it is important to respect the expertise of others. Certainly, if we want them to respect ours, we have to walk that walk ourselves. Respect in collaborative work simply cannot be a one-way street. Furthermore, one should affirmatively look for the expertise that others bring to the table, rather than assuming that they lack any at all. This does not mean deferring to everything they claim or in every area in which they seem confident. This is more critical than that. Evaluate their claims — implied or explicit — of expertise, and think about their bases.
Third — and perhaps this should be first — admit when you do not know something. Some people think that admitting ignorance is a sign of stupidity and incompetence. We believe that the truly confidence can — and should — admit this kind of limit. I know that I am capable, and I am confident enough that I do not need to pretend that I know more than I do. My ego is not so fragile that I cannot admit my current limits. And by admitting that limit (both too myself and to you), I give myself an opportunity to rectify it. Perhaps you can teach me, perhaps we can learn together, or may I can investigate on my own and report back to you.
Fourth, if it is important you to be right — as it is to me and my most cherished loves ones, to an annoying degree — affirmatively look out for when you are wrong. I do not mean that you should easily admit fault when you do not believe it. Rather, I mean try to limit the that fault to one occurrence. As a value, I would rather be wrong and corrected once, than be wrong many many times. Of course, it is (too?) hard to convince me that I am wrong, but I take such pleasure in learning that it is actually a little moment of joy when I realize it. The learning is great, and knowing that I to be right in the future matters a lot to me.
Fifth, try to know the limits of your own perspective and experiences. Obviously, this is key to most of the issues mentioned above. Broader experience enables each of us to better understand our earlier experiences. For example, our work with a second team (e.g., in a different organization) and make visible things that we took for granted in the first context. Different experiences — perhaps with different constraints and priorities — can give us a better understanding of the tradeoff and value of different kinds of decisions.
Sixth, there is a lot to be gained by seeking out and listening to the experiences of others. We can learn vicariously from their experience. In our own work, we combine inside-outsider perspectives, asking each other endless questions. We each have grown our understanding by learning from what the other has been through.
In these ways and others, we try to temper our confidence or arrogance. No, it does not make us less confidence, but instead of makes our confidence less fragile and — in our view — more justified. Our careful efforts at humility are not insincere, nor do they undermine us. Rather, the put us in a position to do better work.