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

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Blogs on Comprehensive Assessment

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Elementary Educator Asks: Does Merit Pay Turn Kids into Zombies?

Gaetan PappalardoAugust 17, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Primary (K-2), Professional Learning Network (PLN), Student Engagement, Teacher Compensation, Upper Elementary (3-5), English Language Arts, History, Physical Education, Visual Arts

Tap, tap, tap---tap, tap--tap. I'm sending a signal from down here in the muck, down here where the boogers are hard and the shoelaces are eternally untied. HELLO up there? In the 80's words of Def Leopard, "Is anybody out there? Is anybody there?" Call me crazy, but how come I don't see or hear serious discussion about what's going to happen to elementary school students and teachers when teacher evaluation is tied to test scores?

Integrating Technology with Limited Resources

Mary Beth HertzAugust 11, 2010

Tags Classroom Technology, Comprehensive Assessment, Curriculum, Digital Divide, Funding, Online Learning, Primary (K-2), Professional Development, Professional Learning Network (PLN), Project-Based Learning, Technology Integration, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12), English Language Arts, History, World Language Learning

OK, so you know about all of these great tools out there that can transform teaching and learning in your classroom but all you have is an ancient PC in the corner of your room. How can you effectively integrate technology with this dinosaur?

Hopefully this post will help.

Do Standards Kill Creativity?

Claus von ZastrowAugust 10, 2010

Tags Brain Research, Comprehensive Assessment, Project-Based Learning, Teacher Development, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12), Science

I'll spare you the suspense. The answer is an emphatic no. In fact, strong content standards can support creativity in our schools. Standards can get a bad rap because they conjure specters of standardization, uniformity and dogma.

Connecting STEM and Arts (TEAMS) to Spur U.S. Innovation: Part 1 of 5

Betty RayJuly 30, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Integrated Studies, Online Learning, Professional Learning Network (PLN), Project-Based Learning, Technology Integration, All Grades, Math, Science, Visual Arts

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Jim Brazell, a technology forecaster, author, public speaker, and consultant. This is the first article in a five-part series.

How to Ignite Intellectual Curiosity in Students

Ben JohnsonJuly 26, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Primary (K-2), High (9-12)

I personally have never seen a student that was not curious about something. I have seen many students who have suppressed their curiosity when they enter school to such an extent as to be nearly undetectable, but it is still there. Human beings are hardwired to be curious and being curious is a major activity of childhood and young adulthood (and yet recently more and more students would rather be curious-looking).

PBL: Picking a Start of the Year Project

Heather Wolpert-GawronJuly 23, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Curriculum, Project-Based Learning, Middle (6-8)

Just as school started to wrap up in June, I decided that at the beginning of next year we would be picking a local cause and trying to solve it. I was entertaining the thought that the kids would pick their own cause, but I'm thinking of building up to that later on. I think instead we'll start with a common cause -- one that we might actually make an impact on.

Reforming Our Schools: Nonacademic Support for Students is Essential

Claus von ZastrowJuly 21, 2010

Tags After-School Learning, Comprehensive Assessment, Mental Health, Teacher Development, All Grades

Editor's note: Anne O'Brien is our guest blogger today. She is a project director at the Learning First Alliance, a Teach for America alumna, and a former public school teacher in the greater New Orleans area.

Many times education reform debates are framed with an us versus them mentality. It doesn't matter what you are arguing for, there is always a clearly defined group working against you. The media also provides the reformers versus the establishment (never mind those members of the establishment who are doing innovative reform work all over the country).

Exploring the NAS Framework for New Science Education Standards

Eric BrunsellJuly 20, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Project-Based Learning, Teacher Development, All Grades, Science

On July 12th, the National Academies of Science released a draft of the Framework for New Science Education Standards.

Getting Started with Technology Integration in Your Classroom

Mary Beth HertzJuly 15, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Curriculum, Integrated Studies, Primary (K-2), Professional Learning Network (PLN), Project-Based Learning, Technology Integration, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

Since I have started this blog in the summertime, I figured it would be appropriate to start discussing, thinking about and planning for the coming school year. As such, this post will focus on planning curriculum, projects and lessons that are aligned with technology standards.

The Next Generation of National Science Education Standards

Eric BrunsellJuly 2, 2010

Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Technology Integration, Science

The National Science Education Standards were published in 1996. The NSES and it's emphasis on "science as inquiry," quickly became a cornerstone of reform efforts and set the tone for a national dialogue about what science teaching should look like. We have learned a lot about effective teaching, curriculum planning, and how students learn science since the original publication of NSES. It is time for the "next generation" of national science standards...and they are on the way.