1.4.24 Goal setting in winter: Prioritize conversations with students Growing up in the Midwest, the winter was always a difficult time to stay motivated in school. Tearing myself away from a warm bed to wait at a cold and dark bus stop didn’t exactly help me... Read more
10.3.23 Goal setting in the fall: Start with MAP Growth scores With the last vestiges of summer now shaken off, you’re probably starting to form the first real idea of who the students in your classroom are as people: what frustrates them, what makes them... Read more
6.20.23 10 ways to meet the learning needs of all students Walk into any classroom today and you’ll find great variation in student growth and kids with a variety of strengths, academic experiences, and needs. Superintendents now report an average of... Read more
8.30.22 A fresh look at research on professional learning—and a warning from a marshmallow Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A famous study on delayed gratification asked a few dozen children to sit in a room alone with a marshmallow. The researcher promised each child that if... Read more
5.24.22 8 questions teachers should ask when giving assessments Every school district wants to make sure it’s administering and using formative, interim, and summative assessments at appropriate times and in appropriate ways. The task of building and... Read more
2.24.22 Three ways to put assessment data to work in the classroom The results of assessment, whether you’re using formative assessment strategies or an interim assessment like MAP® Growth™—can empower teachers and school leaders to inform... Read more
1.11.22 Read the latest in student goal setting guidance For most researchers I know, there is an unrelenting drive to figure stuff out, to find the new piece of data that will describe or explain something in a new way. I get that feeling. Call me odd,... Read more
4.8.21 Formative assessment is not for grading There’s something to love about the first pancake that comes off the grill in the morning. The first pancake usually comes out a little more lumpy, misshapen, or overdone than the rest. Yet... Read more
1.12.21 3 tips for student goal setting this winter With every new year come New Year’s resolutions, and many people focus on getting in better shape. But even something as predictable as a spike in gym memberships at the start of the year is... Read more
8.3.20 More important than ever: Professional learning that drives instructional change Do you know if your professional learning is serving your teachers well? How about your students? This year has reminded all of us just how valuable each moment a teacher spends with a... Read more
7.27.20 How to use goal setting to carve a new path for student growth this fall Like seemingly everyone these days, I am working from home full-time. It’s the first time in my career, and I’ve discovered it requires remaining productive and connected differently... Read more
6.11.20 The power of formative assessment when the only constant is change Before schools closed in March, I sat in on a lesson planning meeting with an Algebra II teaching team working on how to bring context to a lesson on linear and exponential change. In the air... Read more
