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Blogs on Comprehensive Assessment

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Importance of Collaborative Assessment in a 21st Century Classroom

Andrew MarcinekFebruary 16, 2011

Tags Classroom Technology, Comprehensive Assessment, Curriculum, Differentiated Instruction, Lesson Plans, Performance Assessment, Teacher Development, Technology Integration, All Grades

Collaborative assessment must be part of our learning today. We, as educators are doing our students a disservice if we don't attempt to make this type of assessment available to our students. There are few professions and work environments that only focus on individual competencies. Most modern work environments involve some type of collaboration or connected problem solving to enhance their corporation or product. However, the inevitable barriers surface in the form of social and digital media taboos.

Why Formative Assessments Matter

Rebecca AlberFebruary 15, 2011

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Curriculum, Formative Assessment, All Grades

Summative assessments, or high stakes tests and projects, are what the eagle eye of our profession is fixated on right now, so teachers often find themselves in the tough position of racing, racing, racing through curriculum.

Hotter Than You Think: The Brave New World of Student Assessment

EdutopiaFebruary 9, 2011

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Middle (6-8), High (9-12), New York

Edutopia's first Schools That Work installment about comprehensive assessment focuses on a New York City school that has changed the game of student assessment. Think: more rigorous, more relevant, more fun.

While that may not sound terribly sexy, don't be fooled. These techniques -- and what New York's Manhattan-based School of the Future has achieved with them -- have the potential to change the way we understand and learn from our successes and failures.

How?

Assessment Carnival: More Than Quizzes and Tests

Shawn CornallyJanuary 31, 2011

Tags Accountability, Comprehensive Assessment, Curriculum, Formative Assessment, Performance Assessment, Teacher Development

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Shawn Cornally, author of the Standards-Based Grading. Here, he presents a blog carnival on redefining assessment. It's a complex issue, and one that we tackle in the next Schools that Work series here on Edutopia.

The Power of Comprehensive Assessment

Bob LenzJanuary 26, 2011

Tags Achievement Gap, Comprehensive Assessment, Curriculum, Education Reform, Performance Assessment, Student Engagement, High (9-12), California

What if we had a tool that assured us as educators that we had prepared students for college success? At Envision Schools, we believe that our Deeper Learning Assessment System is preparing our students for success in college and the data is backing up our belief.

Dragon's Den: A Reality TV Simulation for Research Writing (Guest Blogger)

Todd FinleyDecember 15, 2010

Tags Classroom Technology, Comprehensive Assessment, Formative Assessment, Mobile Learning, Student Engagement, Middle (6-8), High (9-12), English Language Arts

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Stephanie West-Puckett, a National Writing Project Teacher Consultant and a Teaching Instructor, Department of English, at East Carolina University

Edutopia's Six Strategies for Reform

Betty RayNovember 22, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Integrated Studies, Project-Based Learning, , Teacher Development, Technology Integration, All Grades

Today, November 22, is the National Day of Blogging for Real Ed Reform. Started as a grassroots movement by Ira Socol on his SpeEdChange blog, educator bloggers from around the globe are posting today to "take back the agenda" of education reform. You can see a list of blogs at Cooperative Catalyst.

Science Inquiry Carnival: Inquiry-Based Projects for the Classroom

Eric BrunsellNovember 10, 2010

Tags Classroom Technology, Comprehensive Assessment, Lesson Plans, Performance Assessment, Project-Based Learning, Student Engagement, Middle (6-8), High (9-12), Science

I have written a few posts here about science inquiry and providing students with authentic science experience. This week, I thought I would showcase a few other bloggers that are writing about science inquiry.

Snapshots of Innovation: Travels With Chen (After Steinbeck's Travels with Charley)

Milton ChenNovember 3, 2010

One of my favorite books in high school was John Steinbeck's Travels With Charley, his account of his road trip around the U. S., late in his career, accompanied only by his French poodle Charley. Not having traveled much as a boy beyond my home state of Illinois, into Wisconsin and Indiana, I was mesmerized by his stories of the vastness and diversity of our country.

How to Help Students Use Social Media Effectively

Andrew MarcinekOctober 19, 2010

Tags Accountability, Comprehensive Assessment, , Technology Integration, Middle (6-8), High (9-12), English Language Arts

Today more than ever, people are capable of publishing their thoughts to a vast audience. Comments, tweets, and status updates are ubiquitous and constant. However, are we really focusing on the quality of the message we are putting out there? Are we really providing useful information or are we just adding to the noise?