8.31.21 Maria Wallevand 6 ways to use data with more focus and purpose We’ve all seen some of those marketing-worthy gems posted on a school website or back-to-school banner after a survey is sent to families: “90% of our parents strongly agree/agree that their... Read more
7.1.21 Carrie Phillips How to democratize your school improvement planning process In our last post, we talked about how it’s insufficient to rely solely on student outcome data like grades, graduation rates, and test scores to inform school improvement. Focusing too narrowly on... Read more
6.29.21 Elliot Ransom Why success depends on having the right mix of data—and how you use it In education, as in just about every other field these days, organizations are looking to the power of data to help them solve their most intractable problems. For school leaders diligently working... Read more
5.4.21 Jordan Grant Culturally responsive and sustaining education: What it is, why it matters, and how to do it Education can feel like a sea of buzz words, including terms like “personalized learning,” “differentiation,” “formative assessment,” and “culturally responsive teaching.” These... Read more
4.15.21 Richard Jeffrey Rhodes Examining school improvement through a holistic lens In my three decades in education—in both public and private schools, at the classroom level as well as in district administration—I’ve witnessed and been part of many efforts to improve the way... Read more
3.30.21 Jen Allen 3 must-haves for school improvement plans following COVID-19 We all need something—anything—to make the last impossibly difficult year of COVID-19 learning worth it. What if one of the big rewards at the end of all of this is a bolder, more effective... Read more
3.16.21 Jen Allen 4 things to focus on this spring as you begin your 2021–22 school improvement plan If you’re a school administrator, you know your state or district will require you to develop a school improvement plan for next school year soon. It will need to be based on data and research, but... Read more
1.7.21 Lindsay Prendergast 3 ways to make the switch to grading for learning I have a confession. Last August, I wholeheartedly believed that 2020 could not get any worse. I was wrong. Schools opened, then closed. Even with glimmers of hope about a COVID-19 vaccine, November... Read more
10.3.17 Kristie Werner Implementing MAP Skills? Here Are 5 Things to Know MAP® Skills™ (formerly known as Skills Navigator) is an online classroom assessment tool that quickly and accurately measures student K-8 building block skills in math, reading comprehension,... Read more
6.15.17 Kristie Werner How a Kansas Middle School Gets the Most from MAP Skills Late last year we blogged about our partner, El Dorado Middle School in Kansas, and their pilot of MAP® Skills™ (formerly known as Skills Navigator®) to differentiate instruction for their middle... Read more
2.7.17 Virginia "Jenny" Williams Building Successful RTI and Personalized Learning Programs Response to Intervention (RTI) programs and personalized learning initiatives are becoming increasingly popular as more and more educators are tasked with addressing the individual needs of all... Read more
12.2.16 Joi Converse Media Spotlight: Using Skills Navigator at El Dorado Middle School Today, our Media Spotlight shines on a partner in Kansas, where the Butler County Times-Gazette reported on how El Dorado Middle School teachers are using Skills Navigator® to differentiate... Read more
