Assessment
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It’s Report Card Time and a Student’s Project Is Missing. Now What?
There are better ways to respond than assigning a zero. When report card seasons roll around, it’s the responsibility of the teacher to report on student learning and progress as accurately as possible using the evidence at their disposal. This is not the time to wield grades as currency, rewarding diligent workers with big paychecks Continue reading
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How Ryan Howard Exposed Traditional Assessment Practices
“I’d be stupid not to do it. Right?” One of the greatest episodes from The Office — indisputably the funniest sitcom ever created — has a detail buried in it that says something profound about traditional assessment paradigms. The episode, of course, features Michael Scott (Ryan’s office manager) as guest speaker for Ryan’s business school class. True Continue reading
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Should Teachers Use This New Google Classroom Feature?
Does ‘Close submissions after due date’ support student learning and development? Google Classroom recently introduced a new feature in assignment settings. Teachers can now select ‘Close submissions after due date.’ I have no doubt that some teachers reacted warmly to this development. Late assignment submissions drive some teachers mad. They cost time and energy. So Continue reading
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The Magic and Misery of Student Video Submissions
Here’s the bitter truth about student video submissions. They take forever to fully review. FOREVER. Some of my dear students sincerely expect me to watch every second of everything they post. Bless their hearts, but I can’t meet that demand and stay sane at the same time. What are we to do? Should we just… Continue reading
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What is assessment?
For decades, schools and educators clung to old paradigms of assessment. They treated grades as wages: students do the work, and teachers pay them for that work. They treated assessment as a means of ranking and sorting: winners at the top, losers at the bottom. They treated assessments as leverage to ensure compliance: follow the rules, and you’ll be… Continue reading
Teachers on Fire 