Toward a culture that values data and protects student privacy

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Toward a culture that values data and protects student privacy

July 31, 2014

Which kids do you worry about? I worry about all the kids, each and every one of them. Why do I ask this question? Because without data, without knowing how well each child is doing, we can’t help them. We [...]

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Understanding the reliability and validity of test scores

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Understanding the reliability and validity of test scores

July 10, 2014

Categories: Assessment, Math, Reading

 Toward the end of my master’s degree program, I called my parents and excitedly announced that I was entering a doctoral program in psychometrics. A few uncomfortable moments later, my father responded, “That sounds…interesting.” Encouraged, I explained that a big [...]

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From possibility to probability

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From possibility to probability

June 19, 2014

Categories: Assessment, Math, Reading

A question that I constantly wonder about is this: What does it look like when teachers are truly making a difference in the lives of each and every one of their students? Improving learning starts with knowing the academic and [...]

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The power of close, repeated reading: Why our brains crave a reread

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The power of close, repeated reading: Why our brains crave a reread

June 5, 2014

Categories: Reading | Products: Accelerated Reader

Our brains thrive on repeated experiences. This explains why we seek to watch the same movies again and again and re-read favorite books. According to the health blog, “The Body Odd,” the drive to re-experience is a conscious effort to [...]

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T-Plex: Text complexity through a dinosaur lens

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T-Plex: Text complexity through a dinosaur lens

May 22, 2014

Categories: Reading | Products: Accelerated Reader

When my son Justin was young he was a dinosaur omnivore. He voraciously ate everything related to dinosaurs. He checked out dinosaur videos at the library; he read about allosaurus; he drew protoceratops; he told grandma about velociraptors; and he [...]

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What book should I read next?

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What book should I read next?

May 8, 2014

Categories: Reading

Upon turning the last page of a book, I often feel a sense of accomplishment-slash-relief at having arrived at the end of the book.  However, these feelings, coupled with a sense of nostalgia and loss that I have to leave [...]

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The power of formative assessment

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The power of formative assessment

April 23, 2014

Categories: Assessment, | Products: Star 360

Change is sweeping K-12 assessment. Many teachers are evaluated against summative test outcomes. Students are expected to step up to the higher bar of Common Core and state standards. Districts are taking ownership of assessment tools, striving to scaffold teacher [...]

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“Going deep” to meet math standards

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“Going deep” to meet math standards

April 3, 2014

Categories: Math

With Common Core, like any other complex initiative, we have to first take in the larger, straight-forward ideas before ever considering some of the nuances. Now that most states are years into work with the initiative, some more nuanced discussions [...]

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Amid the CCSS “shifts,” let’s not lose sight of independent reading practice

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Amid the CCSS “shifts,” let’s not lose sight of independent reading practice

March 27, 2014

Categories: Assessment, Reading | Products: Accelerated Reader

Earlier this month, our Chief Academic Officer Gene Kerns wrote about text complexity and the Common Core State Standards. His comments remind us that even with all the attention on the “shifts” demanded by new standards, we [...]

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New approaches in supporting struggling readers

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New approaches in supporting struggling readers

March 13, 2014

Categories: Reading

In his work, Understanding Common Core State Standards, John Kendall cautions that under Common Core “it’s likely that [we] will have something new to learn and something to unlearn” (Kendall, 2011, page 43). This idea applies in the area of [...]

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