Understanding the reliability and validity of test scores
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 [...]
From possibility to probability
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 [...]
The power of close, repeated reading: Why our brains crave a reread
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 [...]
T-Plex: Text complexity through a dinosaur lens
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 [...]
What book should I read next?
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 [...]
The power of formative assessment
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 [...]
“Going deep” to meet math standards
“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 [...]
Amid the CCSS “shifts,” let’s not lose sight of independent reading practice
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 [...]
New approaches in supporting struggling readers
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 [...]
Catch kids before they fall
Catch kids before they fall
February 27, 2014
Categories:
Reading
I believe that education is the only way to social justice. That belief led me to an undergraduate degree in elementary education and a master’s in curriculum and instruction, with a reading specialist emphasis. Since those days at the University [...]
