George Lucas Educational Foundation
Edutopia

Assessment

Look beyond high-stakes testing to learn about different ways of assessing the full range of student ability -- social, emotional, and academic achievement.

  • 3 Reasons Students Procrastinate—and How to Help Them Stop

    Psychologists have uncovered reasons why students put off important work. But there are a few simple things teachers can do to keep students on track.
    Youki Terada

  • Assessing Literacy Skills With One-on-One Conferencing

    Brief, frequent chats with students help teachers assess their reading and writing skills while building strong relationships.
    Kyleen Gray

  • Making (Low-Stakes) Practice Tests More Effective

    Practice tests not only help surface gaps in knowledge—they also strengthen memory.

  • The Case for Not Allowing Test Retakes

    As more educators drop penalties for late work and allow students to redo tests, a high school teacher says that traditional policies are better for the majority of students.
    Anthony Palma

  • 60-Second Strategy: Respond, Reflect, and Review

    This simple activity helps students practice giving and receiving peer feedback—and gets them out of their desks.

  • Bringing Student Choice to Assessment in Science Classes

    What happens when students can opt to skip tests and instead give oral presentations or create art to show what they know?
    John Dorroh

  • 7 Smart, Fast Ways to Do Formative Assessment

    Within these methods you’ll find close to 40 tools and tricks for finding out what your students know while they’re still learning.
    Laura Thomas

  • Allowing Test Retakes—Without Getting Gamed

    Hundreds of teachers discussed the best ways to guide students toward mastery—without being taken advantage of.
    Stephen Merrill

  • How Teachers Can Learn Through Action Research

    A look at one school’s action research project provides a blueprint for using this model of collaborative teacher learning.
    Suzie Boss

  • 6 Teacher-Approved Tips for Faster, More Effective Feedback

    More is not always better (and other life-saving tips).

  • 60-Second Strategy: Interview Assessments

    A face-to-face chat provides an alternative for students who struggle to show what they know on tests.

  • Helping Students Track Their Learning

    A strategy that uses Google Forms and Sheets can guide students to accurately assess what they learn in the course of a unit.
    Bethany Petty

  • Do No-Zero Policies Help or Hurt Students?

    No-zero policies spur serious—and productive—debate among teachers. We look at the big insights on both sides of the argument. 
    Emelina Minero

  • Tips for Allowing Test Retakes

    Allowing students a chance to redo tests and assignments can help them keep striving for mastery, if the process is well managed.
    David Cutler

  • 3 Ways Student Data Can Inform Your Teaching

    Gather and use valuable student data to inform your classroom practice.
    Rebecca Alber