Mold growth at California's Klamath-Trinity Joint USD three years ago was an asset in disguise. Mold growth at California's Klamath-Trinity Joint USD three years ago was an asset in disguise. It required the district to reconstruct six of its seven schools, a $65 million endeavor that superintendent Jon Ray saw as an opportunity. His classrooms […]

One month before the beginning of the 2017-18 school year, Turlock USD was still short five speech-language pathologists. The salary offered by the Central California district was high by area standards, but even so, the positions remained unfilled. In fact, no one had even applied. Alice Solis, Turlock's director of special education, struggled to hire […]

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 […]

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 […]