Using Data to Plan Effective Math Remediation
Let’s face it–data is everywhere. In a school setting, the data that drives our instruction comes from assessments, which we usually classify as either formative or summative. Typically, we define formative assessment as assessment for learning. It is more informal and usually comes in the form of quick, frequent assessments. Think Tickets In, questioning, journal reflections, and teacher observations or discussions from small group instruction. Formative assessment is taking the pulse of student understanding so we can plan our next moves.
Why iReady is Dangerous – Math Exchanges
This school year Fairfax County Public Schools, the 10th largest school division in the United States, adopted the iReady assessment as a universal screener across all of its elementary schools. Students in grades K-6 take these assessments individually on the computer three times per year, and the results are made available to both teachers and parents. According to Curriculum Associates, the company that makes iReady, these assessments are an “adaptive Diagnostic for reading and mathematics [that] pinpoints student need down to the sub-skill level, and [provides] ongoing progress monitoring [to] show whether students are on track to achieve end-of-year targets.” The Fairfax County Public Schools website further asserts that iReady is a “tool that has the potential to streamline Responsive Instruction processes, promote early identification and remediation of difficulties and improve student achievement.”
5 Practical Techniques for Embedding Formative Assessment – LSI: LeadingEd
By Dr. Dylan Wiliam Embedding Formative Assessment, which I wrote with Siobhán Leahy, is designed specifically to help individual teachers develop their practice of formative assessment on their own or with small groups of colleagues. Here are some suggestions for practical techniques you can try in your classroom right now. Technique 1: Start with samples of work, rather than rubrics, to communicate quality
6 Types Of Assessment Of Learning
6 Types Of Assessment Of Learning by TeachThought Staff If curriculum is the what of teaching, and learning models are the how, assessment is the puzzled “Hmmmm”–as in, I assumed this and this about student learning, but after giving this assessment, well….”Hmmmmm.” So what are the different types of assessment of learning? This graphic below from McGraw Hill offers up six forms; the next time someone says ‘assessment,’ you can say “Which type, and what are we doing with the data?” like the professional you are.
10 Assessments You Can Perform In 90 Seconds
10 Assessments You Can Perform In 90 Seconds by TeachThought Staff Good assessment is frequent assessment. Any assessment is designed to provide a snapshot of student understand—the more snapshots, the more complete the full picture of knowledge.
Two reasons why your feedback sessions aren’t working
“Miss, what colour pen do I need to use?” “Miss, why have you underlined this word?” “Sir, I’ve already done one quotation. Why do you want another?” It is good practice to make time in lessons for students to read and respond to your feedback. Yet, feedback sessions always seem to be like this: a thousand questions that you must have answered a thousand times before, leaving you exhausted and frustrated at the end of the lesson.
Visible Thinking
VisibleThinking In Action Every committed educator wants better learning and more thoughtful students. Visible Thinking is a way of helping to achieve that without a separate ‘thinking skills' course or fixed lessons. Visible Thinking is a broad and flexible framework for enriching classroom learning in the content areas and fostering students' intellectual development at the same time. Here are some of its key goals:
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When teachers know their students well, they can build strong connections that lead to better learning. Knowing students’ interests, strengths, and weaknesses help teachers tailor learning experiences for their students. Formative assessment involves the teacher collecting information about what students know, don’t know, and want to learn. This information takes many forms, including observations, exit tickets, discussions, games, and quizzes. These kinds of informal assessments can also help teachers get to know their students as learners and as people. There is a very wide variety of digital formative assessment tools that can be used for free (often charging for extra features).
What does “Assessment Drives Learning” mean to you?
There are so many “head nod” phrases in education. You know, the kind of phrases we talk about and all of us easily agree upon that whatever the thing is we are talking about is a good thing. For instance, someone says that “assessment should drive the learning” in our classroom, and we all easily accept that this is a good practice. Yet, everyone is likely to have a completely different vision as to what is meant by the phrase. In this post, I want to illustrate 3 very different ways our assessments can drive our instruction, and how these practices lead to very different learning opportunities for our students.
Self and Peer Assessment on Student Writing
Every teaching role has its unique burden. Science teachers invest long hours in preparing laboratory experiments with expensive and sometimes hazardous materials. Math teachers wrestle with innumeracy and negative stereotypes of math, especially at the higher levels. History teachers work hard to avoid turning their subject matter into the rote memorization of isolated facts. English teachers like myself, and upper division ones especially, are witness to a tidal wave of written work: quick writes, compositions, literary responses, annotated bibliographies, timed and take-home essays, and more. I consider myself an effective and disciplined teacher, but I am regularly submerged under the work produced by my 180+ students.
15 Ways to Check for Understanding
Nothing’s worse than being met with a sea of blank faces at the end of a lesson. That’s why it’s so important to frequently check for understanding with your students. Here are fifteen simple ways to see who’s good to go, who’s almost there and who needs some one-on-one. 1.
