What sets your school apart from thousands of other schools in the country, or even the others in your district? Former educator and now marketing consultant Trish Rubin says it's up to school leaders to become the "storyteller-in-chief" by defining their school's brand. Rubin provides a step-by-step framework to the nuances of spreading good school […]
Educators in a school district that conducts well-designed formative assessments should be able to accurately predict how students will perform on midterms, finals and high-stakes exams. A growing number of experts and administrators insist that if a district excels at formative assessment, its students shouldn't have to sit through so many high-stakes tests. "We don't […]
In New York, an aggressive opt-out movement—wherein about 60 percent of third- through eighth-graders skipped high-stakes tests—has forced many districts to rethink their assessment methods. Hauppauge Public Schools on Long Island set out to become "self-sufficient" on testing through the use of adaptive learning software and 20-minute, in-class assessments given on iPads and other devices, […]
Usually, when the case is made that other countries are somehow doing a better job than the US in education, the argument is based on test scores, but it is unclear what exactly is being evaluated when we compare these scores. Usually, when the case is made that other countries are somehow doing a better […]
When Deer Creek School District in Edmond, Oklahoma, was asked to participate in a pilot program for Marzano High Reliability Schools, there was an immediate buy-in from Grove Valley Elementary School principal Kelly McCoy. "We were very excited to see what it could do and if it could make an impact at our school" McCoy […]
Superintendents who want to reduce testing time should perform an assessment audit, says Bob Schaeffer, public education director at the National Center for Fair & Open Testing. Link to main article: States begin shedding standardized tests in K12 Key steps include: Determine every test required by the federal government, the state, the district, and at […]
In just the last few months, several districts and states have eliminated tests and cut assessment time to make room for instruction and reduce stress. The average student takes 112 mandated standardized tests from pre-K through grade 12, according to the Council of the Great City Schools. "It allows superintendents and other policymakers to experiment […]
Eighth-graders in Maine in the 2017-18 school year will be the first to adhere to proficiency-based standards. The initiative is the latest implementation phase of a 2012 state law requiring standards-based assessment by 2021. Under the law, districts have leeway in how to best provide support for students in achieving proficiency. Students can expect to […]
When Gary Brantley began his career as an IT leader 14 years ago, he primarily provided technical support and made sure the hardware was running. "It had everything to do with techy stuff" he says. Since then, Brantley's role as chief information officer at DeKalb County Schools in Georgia has expanded significantly. He now spends […]
Disruptive Classroom Technologies: A Framework for Innovation in Education Sage Publications Ltd. Schools continuously fund technology for classrooms but not always with a clear plan. This book lays out a framework for the T3 system, which categorizes technology as "translational" to help educators perform tasks more efficiently, "transformational" as a way of reinventing old tasks […]
