Viewing: assessments
Past, Present, Future: Assessments and Technology
“Grading, in kids’ brains, parents’ brains, administrators’ brains, and even teachers’ brains, is a final snapshot after which there is no beyond. But if we can start thinking about assessments as a means to drive feedback, NOW you’re on to something.”
Alternative Strategies for Assessing Learning: Larry Ferlazzo Classroom Q & A Podcast
“Whether they’re doing a portfolio or a performance task, they still want to see How do I stack up?” I had a lot of fun being interviewed for Larry Ferlazzo’s podcast about alternatives to grading and traditional assessments. The follow-up
Edutopia Post: How Can We Make Assessments Meaningful?
My most recent post for Edutopia focuses on Meaningful Assessments. I’m currently working on that chapter for my new book, and it’s been on the brain as of late. In this post, I talk about using the 4Cs (Creativity, Critical-Thinking,
And My Job Quality is Based on These Tests?! (Updated)
So clearly we’ve all been thinking a lot about the necessity of test scores in making high stakes decisions. I mean, test scores seem to be used in everything these days: teacher evaluations, a student’s college or career readiness, merit
How do we “Fix the Schools?”
Ellen Berg, my colleague in The Teacher Leaders asked this very simple question the other day. I had so much fun in answering and I believe so deeply in the power of this simple question that I wanted to share
Costa’s Levels of Questioning and Student-Designed Assessments
So this week I introduced Costa’s Levels of Questioning to my students. We have some teachers on my site talking about these triggers of metacognition so it compliments everyone’s efforts to enter this discussion in the classroom. Costa’s is, in
What Every 5th Grader REALLY Needs to Know
So I’ve become a Guy Kawasaki fan. It all started when I was searching for commencement day speeches for my Speech and Debate team to compete with. I found his “Hindsight”.
Facebook Quizzes and Lesson Planning
It used to be 4 colors that defined the differences between personalities: gold, blue, green, and orange. Then it advanced to 8 slices of a pie used to categorize the different intelligences: linguistic, logical, naturalistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, visual/spatial, kinesthetic, musical. There are
Swine Flu and Test Scores
Here’s yet another reason why test scores can’t be the only way to gage teaching quality. A colleague of mine, a fifth grade teacher, at the UCI Writing Project got a call last night from her automated phone tree saying
Marzano con’t & Corporate Sponsorship in Education
There’s a really interesting discussion thread going on at the Interactive Whiteboard Revolution ning. It all began with my post recapping Robert Marzano’s position on the influence of IWB technology when he presented at the CUE conference this year. You can
Teacher-Led Evaluations
I was musing over a post at Bill Ferriter’s blog, “The Tempered Radical,” about “white space” teachers. These are the teachers who are doing great things quietly, unrecognized for their contributions to the overall success of a school. So I
The Importance of The Classroom Library
I believe a classroom library is the heartbeat of a teacher’s environment. It is the window into their own personality, and it reflects the importance of literacy in the classroom. I believe every teacher, no matter the subject taught, should
Teacher Magazine: Test Prep Magic
Check out my article in yesterday’s Teacher Magazine outlining 5 little-thought-about strategies in teaching test prep. Hope it helps you during your own Test Prep season. -Tweenteacher
Top 10: How to Take Control of Your Teaching
How can you take control of your teaching, both literally and internally? Read my Top 10 list that advises a teacher on how to get what you need in this demanding job of ours, how to survive it, and how to love it.
Test Prep-Bubbling Power
So I looked at my 8th grade students’ scores after they took the MMA and sighed. Their scores sucked.
Is EdTech changing how students think or is it addressing the changes in student thinking?
Science Daily is reporting that there has been a shift in how students are thinking as a result of their use of technology. They believe it possibly lowers critical thinking skills and analysis. Additionally, they wonder just how much schools
Marketing Metacognition
So I just got the January MindWare catalogue and I realize that here we have a toy catalogue that is solely for metacognitive purchases. So this got me thinking: how can schools market metacognition? I realized, of course, that until
Metacognitive Poetry: Writing About Thinking While Writing Lesson
Here’s a great metacognitive lesson that integrates poetry. Or is it a poetry lesson that is metacognitive? (Shrug) I believe that good writing and great structure can be taught through mimicking great authors. Using this philosophy as my guide, my
NewsHour with Jim Leher: Michelle Rhee
I recently watched John Merrow’s interview with Michelle Rhee on the NewsHour. Michelle seems like a real mixed blessing for education. On one hand, she’s willing to clean house, and education does seriously need it. On the other hand, however,
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Here’s why test scores shouldn’t be the only criteria…
By heather on February 18, 2009
OK, so my first period’s “Advanced” group went up 40% between their 1st district assessment and their 2nd. Another period went up 37%. Even my Honors class went from 81% Advanced to 97% Advanced, with only 1 student found in