Assessment
Down Under
One of the greatest gifts is being able to see people grow. Recently, I have been reflecting and wondering if this is the very heart of what my life’s work should be about. From friendships and families, to the classroom, to motherhood, to the school level and then district level, I feel a pull to…
Read MoreWhy You Need to Start Talking to Students
It’s not unusual for me to be in conversations with teachers and administrative teams where the following things are discussed: Data Books Other resources Family issues Objectives Lesson Plans Ironically, one of the things that is rarely discussed is what the students have to say. I find it odd that we continue to work around…
Read MoreNot Your Mama’s Grading and Reporting
Grading and reporting is a topic I have dreaded discussing for years. It is the proverbial Pandora’s Box. Basically, when it comes to grading and reporting, everyone has an opinion on the “best” approach. In my own undergraduate work related to education, this is something that was not explicitly addressed. I had limited responsibility…
Read MoreThree Favorite Things
It’s that time of year where everyone is making lists and checking it twice, so we thought we would toss out a few of our ERG Favorite Things. Children’s Literature What’s not to love here? Children’s books are not only designed to create a love of reading, but also are handy tools in classrooms…
Read MoreRelationships Count
“It is the teachers who have created positive teacher-student relationships that are more likely to have the above average effects on student achievement.” – Dr. John Hattie After years of extensive research on student learning, Dr. John Hattie found that the relationships teachers share with their students have a greater effect on their academic growth…
Read MoreKeep Teaching
To do test prep or not to do test prep…to keep with my literacy routine or not…those are the questions on most teachers’ minds. The good news is you don’t have to choose. You can keep with your regular routine and teach test prep. Just as you teach fiction, biography, and poetry as different genres,…
Read MoreMaking Assessments Useful
The emphasis on assessment as a measure of accountability has diverted our attention from its most important purpose. Classroom assessments should be guiding tools for improving instruction and student learning. Quality assessments can serve as meaningful sources of information for teachers. The data we gather provides us with evidence for our next steps in helping…
Read MoreWhat Really Counts?
“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything we count, counts.” – Albert Einstein We have become a nation of numbers – driven by statistics and data. The fixation on testing, scoring, and ranking our young learners is not what really counts when it comes to learning. Randi Weingarten, the President of the…
Read MoreAssessment – Feedback about Impact
“We should focus on the greatest source of variance that can make the difference – the teacher.” – John Hattie Typically we are asked to assess students and analyze how well they have done on a particular task. We view the outcome as a measure of how the child is progressing. Our schools are streaming…
Read MoreReady, Set, Go
From the desk of Carol C… I thought I knew the educational jargon: ABC’s, testing, EOG, EOC, accountability, Common Core, and the list goes on. I could talk confidently about any of these terms to anybody. Then one day a fellow educator asked me what I thought of READY. “I’m ready for it,” I tried…
Read More