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One of my favorite books is Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. For those who haven’t read it, Gladwell writes of the untold stories of success. Rather than telling the stereotypical story of super intelligence or unabashed ambition, Gladwell argues that the true story of success can found by spending more time looking around those who have succeeded; their family circumstances, where they were born, and even their birth date. Read more
It was a warm winter day. Snow was falling and my 8-year old was ready to ride the youth snowmobile. I was determined that he was going to learn to do this. While Chase loves to “drive,” he is more concerned with everything around him than the road right in front of him. He watched his older brother jump on and thought that he should be able to ride as fast as he does. Read more
Post 2 of 4 on Using Assessment to Improve Achievement
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them
Einstein
As noted in my first post of this series regarding using assessment to support achievement, the primary mission of schools is to help kids learn. Schools write mission statements toward that same end: all students will be successful. But, have those mission statements become routine and somewhat cliché? Read more
One of the most challenging sales job that we as educators may ever have to make is related to the idea of productive failure. Productive failure is included in our tenets of effective assessment practices as a component of a learning rich culture along with risk taking and celebrating success. Failure seems to be hard-wired into our brains as a negative and something to be avoided at all costs. Our job as educators is to recognize this perception and work to correct it. Read more
This is a guest post by Kelly Rockhill, Solution Tree
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bloomington, Ind. (March 4, 2016)—Solution Tree, a premier educational publisher and professional development provider, has announced the release of Grading From the Inside Out: Bringing Accuracy to Student Assessment Through a Standards-Based Mindset. This new book by Tom Schimmer provides educators with active steps to positively change grading and reporting in their classrooms. Read more
This is a guest post by Kelly Rockhill, Solution Tree
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bloomington, Ind. (January 25, 2016)—Solution Tree, a premier educational publisher and professional development provider, announces the release of a powerful new book that seeks to reinvigorate teaching and learning through collaborative assessment practices.
In Collaborative Common Assessments: Teamwork. Instruction. Results., author Cassandra Erkens outlines the practical steps teacher teams must take to establish clear, comprehensive assessment systems that guide instruction and strengthen professional learning communities. “When common assessments are developed and employed properly, as a collaborative, formative system aimed at improving learning for teachers and learners alike,” writes Erkens in the introduction, “the gains in teacher efficacy and student achievement can be staggering.” Read more
The words assessment and hope are not often used in the same sentence. The mere mention of the word assessment can cause stress and angst. At the Assessment Center we aim to change that visceral reaction. At its core, assessment fosters hope, builds efficacy, and increases achievement (Shepard, 2000; Zimmerman & Schunk, 2011; Brookhart, 2013; Andrade, 2010; Hattie & Timperely, 2007; Brown & Harris, 2013). Read more
As with most innovations in education, we start by questioning before embracing new ideas. We think critically about the benefits that the change has to offer and will engage in vigorous debates as we begin the implementation process. When changes start to become part of our school culture, we can often lose the rationale and core essentials of what is most important related to the new practice. Read more
Why should teachers create their own common assessments? Wouldn’t it be better if the district did it for them? Read more
Over the summer, schools and districts often engage in curriculum development work. Many teams will be working to unpack standards, identify learning targets, and then align assessments to the targets. Read more
