WHAT WORKS IN EDUCATION The George Lucas Educational Foundation

Log In

We share evidence-based K-12 learning strategies that empower you to improve education.

Featured:

School Transformation Through Arts Integration at Bates Middle School

Teacher leading a class in dance with arms outstretched

Featured:

Five Keys to Successful Social and Emotional Learning

Featured:

How to Thank a Teacher

Blogs on Comprehensive Assessment

More Blogs on Comprehensive AssessmentRSS

A Web 2.0 Class: Students Learn 21st Century Skills, Collaboration, and Digital Citizenship

Andrew MarcinekOctober 11, 2010

Tags Classroom Technology, Comprehensive Assessment, Digital Citizenship, Global Education, Integrated Studies, Professional Learning Network (PLN), Project-Based Learning, Student Work Examples, Teacher Development, Technology Integration, High (9-12), English Language Arts, History

Christopher Columbus was wrong when he reported to the King and Queen that the world is round. In fact, the world is flat and so are many of our classrooms in this great nation.

For years, students learned within the parameters of a building, which then separated them into rooms. Students would attend class daily and the teacher would present the daily lesson. This is how a school day has progressed for years. And in many US classrooms, it still does. However, this not the case in three high schools in Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.

Using Staff Expertise to Increase Graduation Rates

Anne OBrienOctober 8, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Dropout Prevention, Education Reform, Teacher Development, High (9-12), Washington

We've been hearing a lot recently about how the problem with our schools is the people in it -- the principals, the teachers and especially their unions. Or the problem is governance. Clearly kids can't perform well because the system is keeping them down. If only we had more charter schools -- that would solve everything.

Evidence that PBL Works

Bob LenzSeptember 30, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Project-Based Learning, Technology Integration, High (9-12)

Many of us out there know that project-based learning (PBL) inspires students to understand core content knowledge more deeply and gain key skills for success in college and career. Many of us have also directly contributed to results for students on state tests, college-going, and college persistence metrics.

Don't Let Big Reform Crush the Small Victories

Gaetan PappalardoSeptember 22, 2010

Tags Charter Schools, Comprehensive Assessment, Education Reform, Standardized Testing, Teacher Development, All Grades, Music

Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
Listen to the DON'TS
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me--
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.

~~Shel Silverstein

Glossing: How to Help Your Composition Students Think and Write About Revising (Guest Blog)

Todd FinleySeptember 21, 2010

Tags Accountability, Comprehensive Assessment, Formative Assessment, Literacy, Performance Assessment, Professional Development, Teacher Development, Technology Integration, High (9-12), English Language Arts

Today's guest blogger is Bob Alexander, a language arts consultant with the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN), in Harrisburg, PA.

Engaging Students with High Quality Science Tradebooks

Eric BrunsellSeptember 14, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Curriculum, Literacy, Project-Based Learning, Technology Integration, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12), District of Columbia, Science, Illinois, Wisconsin

The newly released Common Core Standards for Mathematics and Language Arts included a set of standards for literacy in science and social studies.

The Importance of Student Journals and How to Respond Efficiently

Todd FinleySeptember 1, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Technology Integration, Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

Burdened by expanding curriculum and multiplying high-stakes assessment requirements, some of my respected colleagues might be forgiven for not integrating student journals into their courses. The most common objection: "Who has time?"

Race to the Top: What It Means for Real Students

EdutopiaAugust 25, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Funding, Technology Integration, All Grades

Amid all the hubbub about this week's new Race to the Top winners -- who got it but didn't deserve it, who didn't get it but should have, why almost all the victorious states are east of the Mississippi -- the big thing I'm wondering is: how will all this change the experience of kids in the classroom?

Interview 2.0: Using Social Media to Prepare Students for the Workplace

Andrew MarcinekAugust 21, 2010

Tags Career and Technical Education, Comprehensive Assessment, , Technology Integration, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

"Please submit a letter of interest and a resume by mail only. No electronic submissions will be accepted."

- In the comments section listed below, please list your first impression of this statement.

News Flash: How Tiny Boosts to Personal Identity Improve Minority Students' Grades

EdutopiaAugust 18, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Mental Health, Mentoring, , Student Engagement, Teacher Development, All Grades, English Language Arts

A few years ago I wrote a story about a new piece of research that blew my mind. A group of Yale University researchers led by Geoffrey Cohen gave a bunch of Connecticut seventh-graders a 15-minute writing assignment. Half the children in this racially-diverse, working-class school were prompted to write about their personal values - a task designed to validate their identity and self-worth -- and half were assigned a more neutral subject.