What are Formative Assessments and Why Should We Use Them?
by Judith Dodge
Check out these teacher friendly tips from scholastic for using formative assessments to help differentiate instruction and improve student achievement.
The Fatal Flaw of Educational Assessment
by W. James Popham
In this Education Week commentary, Dr. Popham makes the case that America’s students are not being educated as well as they should be because we use the wrong tests to make our most important educational decisions. The effectiveness of both teachers and schools is now evaluated largely using students’ scores on annually administered standardized tests, but most of these tests are simply unsuitable for this intended purpose. What’s most dismaying about this widespread misuse of educational tests is that many educators, most policymakers, and almost all parents of school-age children do not realize how these tests contribute to diminished educational quality.
How Students And Teachers Can Benefit From Testing
by Natalie Eexler, Forbes
Testing has gotten a bad name, but it can be a powerful lever for teaching and learning. Unfortunately, that’s not the kind of testing most schools are doing.
Editorial: Student testing for the greater good
by The Oregonian Editorial Board
Portland Public Schools sends an email to district families justifying the need for students to take a mandatory test each year on what they’ve learned. In 2015 the state legislature passed a law allowing families to opt their student out of taking the test for any reason. The participate rate in several districts is below the 94.5 % threshold mandated by the federal government for students and demographic subgroups. Now the systems superintendent want to turn that trend around.
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