5.17.13 Classroom techniques: Formative assessment idea number 10 We’ve reached ten. Ten formative assessment strategies and ideas that you can use in your classroom to elicit evidence of learning and adjust your teaching. So far, our blogs have touched on the... Read more
5.14.13 Using NWEA Norms to Establish Goals on State Tests Question: How do we use NWEA norms to identify student performance and growth goals around meeting state proficiency standards? Answer: Simply put, we can’t. NWEA performance and growth norms... Read more
5.13.13 Details of the President’s Plan on Early Learning Becoming Clearer After the President’s State of the Union speech in late February we wrote a blog post that highlighted some of his proposed early learning plans, namely a new emphasis on federal-state... Read more
4.26.13 4 Benefits of Incorporating Instructional Scaffolding in Early Childhood Assessments In an instructional setting, the term “scaffolding” or “instructional scaffolding” refers to the guidance and support a teacher offers a student when the student is learning a new concept. In... Read more
4.22.13 Aligning the MAP Assessment to Content Standards As assessment data is increasingly used in high stakes evaluations, a major area of discussion is the alignment between the assessment and the responsibility to teach content in accordance with the... Read more
4.19.13 Authentic Learning Series: 13 At-Home Numeracy Ideas for Early Childhood This is the fourth and final article in our authentic learning series. In the first two articles, we discussed authentic learning ideas for the classroom (for early literacy and numeracy) and in the... Read more
4.12.13 Authentic Learning Series: 13 At-Home Literacy Ideas for Early Childhood This is the third of four articles in a series about incorporating authentic learning and authentic assessment in both the classroom setting and at home. In our first two articles, we focused on... Read more
4.9.13 The Differences Between the Student and School Norms As we approach the end of the school year, I’ve started to receive an increasing number of questions from partner schools and districts about how to interpret the growth of students. More... Read more
4.8.13 Authentic Learning Series: 14 Classroom Numeracy Ideas for Early Childhood This is the second of four articles in a series in which we are sharing some of our favorite ideas for incorporating authentic learning and authentic assessment in both the classroom setting and at... Read more
3.28.13 Authentic Learning Series: 15 Classroom Literacy Ideas for Early Childhood Prevention of literacy and numeracy skill gaps in early childhood is a high priority for parents, teachers and educational leaders. To focus on this priority, there are a myriad ways in which we can... Read more
3.26.13 The Investment in Early Childhood Education and the Myth of the Fade-Out Last month, when the President announced his call for universal access to Pre-K, we were elated. We firmly believe that high quality early childhood education can have a large and lasting impact on... Read more
3.13.13 Classroom techniques: Formative assessment idea number 9 So far we’ve touched on eight formative assessment ideas that can help teachers elicit evidence of student learning in the here and now. Here they are again: 1. The Popsicle... Read more