2.11.16 What Do We Mean When We Ask Learners to Think? In working on some new designs for professional learning, I’ve been pushing myself to think about new strategies to engage both learners and facilitators – ways to get both parties thinking... Read more
1.21.16 Four Key Elements of a Quality Assessment Toolbox for RTI Recently I was reading the latest Education Week when I ran across an article discussing Tier 2 interventions for reading in elementary classrooms. The article discussed a study which... Read more
12.17.15 MAP Around the World October saw the first Fall MAP Summit sponsored by CEESA (Central & Eastern European Schools Association). The Brandenburg Berlin International School was host site for 43 attendees representing... Read more
12.8.15 Data Rule #1: Don’t Should on Yourself Student growth is the expected outcome when using assessment data to inform instruction. Defining success metrics for students involves asking where a student should be in relation to state... Read more
12.3.15 Making sense of standard error of measurement If you want to track student progress over time, it’s critical to use an assessment that provides you with accurate estimates of student achievement, that is, assessment with a high level of... Read more
11.17.15 Of NAEP and Norms: Why Do NWEA Norms Change? Before I address the question, indulge me while I set some context by discussing NAEP scores. As you know, 2015 NAEP scores showed a pretty broad-based decline breaking a trend of small... Read more
11.5.15 What are the Secret Elements of Expressive Language Embedded in MAP? Can a computerized assessment, such as MAP, measure expressive language skills? This is an important question, since the ability to express ideas is one of the major indicators for College and... Read more
11.3.15 Is it Time to Re-engineer Your Classroom? Engineering your classroom environment to regularly solicit evidence of student understanding creates engaged students, while providing teachers the information they need to adjust instruction as... Read more
10.22.15 Six Ways The Learning Continuum Can Help Teacher Decision Making Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®) and MAP for Primary Grades (MPG) interim assessments include our interactive teacher tool, the Learning Continuum. The Learning Continuum lets teachers see... Read more
9.29.15 Connecting Growth Mindset and Assessment When I think about Carol Dweck and praise, I am taken back to the Educational Leadership article in 2005 entitled, The Perils and Promises of Praise (PDF). It feels like the title begins to outline... Read more
9.24.15 Use Formative Assessment as Your Classroom Fitbit Do you have a Fitbit or some other fitness tracker? Why did you get one? What do you use it for? What kind of results are you seeing? Do you share your results? Have you connected with others using... Read more
9.17.15 Research proof points: Better student engagement improves student learning Research shows that using formative assessment can improve student learning. One of the ways formative assessment does this is by improving student engagement, a challenge for any... Read more