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Blogs on Comprehensive Assessment

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Great Tech Expectations: What Should Elementary Students Be Able to Do and When?

Mary Beth HertzJuly 13, 2011

First off, let me clarify that I am not a proponent of expecting all children to learn at the same pace. Why all third graders are expected to be at x reading level by January is beyond me. That said, I think it's a fair assumption that there are certain skills that we hope our students have by a certain age in order to help them reach their full potential. This also applies to tech skills.

Debunking Five Myths About Project-Based Learning

John LarmerJuly 1, 2011

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Primary (K-2), Project-Based Learning, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

Editor's Note: John Larmer is the Director of Product Development at the Buck Institute for Education.

Many teachers and administrators -- not to mention the general public -- might have the wrong impression of PBL. Maybe they have stereotypical views of what a "project" is, or they've seen poor examples of it in the past. Or they can't imagine how it could fit in today's landscape of standards and testing ("Oh yeah, we did that in the 90's, but things were different then.")

Here are some common misconceptions and how you could respond with a "fact check" if you're trying to explain or defend PBL.

Assessing the Common Core Standards: Real Life Mathematics

Andrew MillerJune 28, 2011

Tags Common Core Standards, Comprehensive Assessment, Project-Based Learning, Middle (6-8), High (9-12), Math

Another buzzword that permeates the conversation around education is relevancy, and rightfully so. We want our students not only to make connections to real world problems but also to do these activities.

A Different Perspective: Teaching to the Test

Ben JohnsonJune 20, 2011

Tags Accountability, Comprehensive Assessment, Education Reform, Standardized Testing, Student Engagement, All Grades

What does "teaching to the test" mean? I haven't actually ever seen this literally happen in a classroom: "Class, remember the answer to question 12 is A, 13 is B, and 14 is D." But, as much as it is maligned, isn't a form of teaching to the test the point of why we teach in the first place? I'm wondering how students can be successful on the state standardized test if we don't teach to it?

Understanding How the Brain Thinks (Part 1 of 7)

Judy Willis MDJune 13, 2011

Tags Brain Research, Comprehensive Assessment, Formative Assessment, Teacher Development, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12), All Grades

Former neurologist and teacher Judy Willis will be presenting a 5-part series on how young brains develop neurologically; she'll also offer some research-based classroom strategies to teach critical thinking and other 21st century skills.

Understanding How the Brain Works

For 21st century success, now more than ever, students will need a skill set far beyond the current mandated standards that are evaluated on standardized tests. The qualifications for success in today's ever-changing world will demand the ability to think critically, communicate clearly, use continually changing technology, be culturally aware and adaptive, and possess the judgment and open-mindedness to make complex decisions based on accurate analysis of information. The most rewarding jobs of this century will be those that cannot be done by computers.

Pretesting Students and the KWL Strategy

Ben JohnsonJune 2, 2011

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, All Grades

In 1986, Donna Ogle created KWL, a reading strategy that engages the students in the text or textbook and helps students analyze what they are reading. Students are asked to describe what they already know about the reading topic. Then they are asked to look at the title, the introduction and the pictures and determine what they want to know more of, in essence to determine why they should continue reading the literature.

Going Beyond NCLB and Assessing Schools Differently

Anne OBrienMay 10, 2011

Tags Accountability, Comprehensive Assessment, Formative Assessment, Performance Assessment, Standardized Testing, All Grades, New Hampshire

We all know that reading and math standardized test scores do not truly represent how good a school is. But thanks to No Child Left Behind -- the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) -- they are just about all we consider while judging a school's performance.

How to Look at Multiple-Choice Assessments Formatively

Heather Wolpert-GawronMarch 28, 2011

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Formative Assessment, Primary (K-2), Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

The following is an excerpt from my new book, 'Tween Crayons and Curfews: Tips for Middle School Teachers, I share what I call "lesson trails," step-by-step activities that I routinely use in my classroom

The Department of Education's Karen Cator Answers Your Questions about the National EdTech Plan

Betty RayMarch 9, 2011

Tags Assistive Technology, Classroom Technology, Comprehensive Assessment, Education Reform, Media Literacy, Multiple Intelligences, Performance Assessment, Project-Based Learning, Teacher Development, Technology Integration, All Grades

In November of last year, the Department of Education released its National Education Technology Plan (NETP) after 18 months of input from educators, government officials, and industry people.

Earlier this year here on Edutopia, blogger Audrey Watters reviewed the plan and solicited questions from the Edutopia community about the plan. We sent the highest-ranking questions to DOE's Karen Cator who answered each of them -- on video -- here.

Criteria for Effective Assessment in Project-Based Learning

Andrew MillerFebruary 28, 2011

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Formative Assessment, Performance Assessment, Project-Based Learning, Standardized Testing, Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

One of the greatest potentials for PBL is that it calls for authentic assessment. In a well-designed PBL project, the culminating product is presented publicly for a real audience. PBL is also standards-based pedagogy. Oftentimes when I consult and coach teachers in PBL, they ask about the assessment of standards. With the pressures of high stakes testing and traditional assessments, teachers and administrators need to make sure they accurately design projects that target the standards they need students to know and be able to do.