9.2.21 Cara Holt 3 tips for understanding when—and how—to use formative assessment When I was in the classroom, I felt skilled using data. My students set daily personal goals, we had learning targets based on our data, and students had assessment goals. I often taught whole-group... Read more
8.24.21 Kathy Dyer 75 digital tools and apps teachers can use to support formative assessment in the classroom There is no shortage of formative assessment strategies, techniques, and tools available to teachers who use formative instructional practice in their classrooms. Here is an extensive list of 75... Read more
7.20.21 Erin Beard What is formative assessment? Human-centered formative assessment drives long-term, holistic success for students. Because there is still confusion around formative assessment, let’s explore what it is and why it should be a... Read more
4.27.21 Erin Beard The importance of student self-assessment Want to know a secret? I didn’t mean to become a secondary ELA teacher. One of the reasons why an ELA endorsement wasn’t originally at the top of my list was this persistent worry: How does one... Read more
4.8.21 Chase Nordengren 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
8.27.20 Erin Ryan 19 formative assessment strategies for online teaching At Teach. Learn. Grow., nothing makes us happier than knowing some of our posts are especially bookmark worthy. They’re the ones you keep coming back to when you need a quick boost of inspiration... Read more
8.11.20 Erin Beard A step-by-step guide for using stress- and trauma-sensitive practices in your classroom COVID-19 and the deaths of Mr. Arbery, Ms. Taylor, Mr. Floyd, and Mr. Brooks have caused stress and even trauma for many students. As educators, we can all come together to support learning in times... Read more
7.14.20 Vicki McCoy How formative assessment boosts metacognition—and learning In a June 2018 BOLD blog post, Annie Brookman-Byrne describes metacognition this way: “[M]etacognition is ‘thinking about thinking,’ but metacognition also encompasses the regulation of these... Read more
7.7.20 Erin Beard 6 ways to help heal toxic stress, trauma, and inequity in your virtual or in-person classroom Many of our students’ lives have been deeply disrupted this year by COVID-19 and police brutality. Even during “normal” times, our learners can be affected by toxic stress, trauma, and... Read more
6.30.20 Steve Underwood How to build a balanced assessment system As my colleague Chase Nordengren said recently, teaching and learning have been transformed by COVID-19 school closures—and they’re unlikely to return to what we were used to anytime soon, if... Read more
6.23.20 Brooke Mabry How responsive planning can strengthen your formative assessment practice In my work with educators over the years, I have found the majority associate formative assessment with the phrase “assessment for learning” and describe it as “in-the-moment adjustments to... Read more
6.11.20 Chase Nordengren 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 was one... Read more
