This blog post was originally published back in 2018, but we need this discussion again. Many teachers are agonizing over their students and how well they’re prepared for various assessments at this time of year. Let’s have a reality check, shall we? How many times did I have this conversation with someone throughout my almost …
Each of us is small, all by ourselves, but we are big, when we stick together. —Deborah Wiles, Revolution Sunny says it so well in Revolution, Deborah Wiles’s documentary novel about Freedom Summer. I’ve been in education for three decades (and counting) and have, at times, felt achingly small. Not so anymore. As I’ve watched …
I recently met with an exceptional group of first grade teachers for a follow-up session to a training on a new assessment system their district is implementing this year. The previous meeting had been a quick training on the basics of how to administer the assessment. They had asked some insightful questions in the initial …
Accountability—the idea of holding schools, districts, educators, and students responsible for results—has become the most-recent watchword in education. In more and more states and districts, policymakers are moving to reward achievement and punish failure in schools, in an effort to ensure that children are getting a good education and that tax dollars aren’t being wasted. …
