The Big List of Assessment

Big concerns about the big test.

Standardized assessments can't evaluate all kinds of learners.

The emphasis on standardized testing is muzzling the teaching of self-expression.

The venerable test-making organization hopes to make more meaningful measurements of student achievement.

U.K. schools begin using a literacy test to gauge application of technical skills to everyday life.

Grasping big concepts first leads to understanding the facts.

Using portfolios and presentations, schools take assessment into their own hands.

Exams are better at gauging the big picture than at evaluating students.

Problem: Old-school accountability tests are crude measurements of student learning.
Solution: Build a better test.

Classroom response systems provide instant feedback.

The House Committee on Education and Labor proposes amendments to the controversial education law.

State superintendent of public instruction Jack O'Connell chimes in on NCLB, home schooling, and the endless quest for better teachers.

This is the deck. la la la la ..... deck deck deck.

The General Educational Development diploma deserves respect.

Educators rave about the benefits of early childhood schooling. So, why don't we support it more?

Grading and achievement.

A reader rights the wrong.

NCLB-induced changes.

How a simple writing exercise dismantled negative racial preconceptions.

Let's focus on giving kids what they need -- information about their own brains, it turns out.

A government panel releases its plans for improving NCLB.

As reauthorization looms, it's time to rethink and restructure.

Nearly a quarter century ago, "A Nation at Risk" hit our schools like a brick dropped from a penthouse window. One problem: The landmark document that still shapes our national debate on education was misquoted, misinterpreted, and often dead wrong.

A challenge.

Getting outside your box will give you a real perspective.

Deciphering the spin -- what it means for the classroom.

NEA president Reg Weaver calls on Congress to tailor NCLB for more diverse needs -- and fully fund the law, while they're at it.

Project-based learning has the potential to become one of the most useful and defensible instructional strategies of this age.

Education journalists play an important role in public education. Here's what they have to say.

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." -- Albert Einstein

This Milwaukee Journal Sentinel education reporter exposes racial disparity and more in America's school-choice capital.

The new challenge: No underprivileged child left behind.

Kudos for IBO.

Too often, the wind is blowing in our face, the conditions are not quite right, and the craft we're piloting seems terribly flimsy. Yet, when it goes airborne, incredible changes result.

A former teacher stands by her assignments.

Why homework is a pointless and outdated habit.

More educators seek the potential, not the peril, in the controversial act.

Another year has passed, and schools are still captives of an outdated calendar.

In the country's most alternative classrooms, there's no such thing as a report card.

As NCLB gains momentum, schools and communities must fight against narrowing curriculums.

Through teamwork and testing, a struggling school bounces back.

First, see what students really need. Then we can figure out how to fix our schools.

Tests don't just measure absorption of facts. They teach what we value.

The author encourages us to think before we believe.

Thoughts on adolescent literacy.

A Seattle school excites students with the promise of an interconnected world.

Go online for data about local schools.

As reading skills falter, educators push to improve adolescent literacy.

At JEB Stuart High, students can't wait to hit the books. How'd that happen?

Learning to appreciate numbers.

Students no longer have to agonize while waiting for test results.

Daydreamers thrive when teachers recognize their learning styles -- and emotional needs.

Civics program inspires high school kids before and after graduation.

Time is a resource we still haven't figured out how to use wisely.

Ideas for students, teachers, schools, and communities.

Critical-thinking skills -- and fluency in multimedia production -- are integral to media literacy.

Striving to keep public education fresh.

Mysterious classroom evaluators are troubling and disrespectful.

As goes high school biology, so goes American leadership in sciences.

If enough educators -- and noneducators -- realize there are serious flaws in how we evaluate our schools, maybe we can stop this absurdity.

In these days of insufficient funding for education, let's not forget to support our teachers and use our resources to help schools be the best they can be.

An exposé of the politics of educational publishing.

What does the word secretary really mean?

A surprising fact about California's spending habits.

Enlightening readers on the status of public education.

Detailed scoring rubrics allow students to learn from their mistakes.

Projects, portfolios, and presentations rule a school founded on Howard Gardner's principle of multiple intelligences.

Students take on the task of designing a state-of-the-art high school.

At this small New York City high school, teaching to the individual student creates an innovative and effective way to learn.

A discussion on the benefits of applied learning.

Curriculum and the methods of instruction need to change to get -- and keep -- students interested in the sciences.

A in-depth discussion on revamping state assessment.

Teachers -- and entire school districts -- are taking a closer look at test scores and other data to learn how to improve their schools and their students' overall achievement.

Steps school district staff and board members can take to support high-quality assessment of teaching and learning.

Steps state and federal leaders can take to ensure fair and equal assessment.

Performance assessements go beyond traditional tests and serve as an important teaching tool.

Several reports tout the effectiveness of truly relevant evaluation of student work.

A small rural Massachusetts school has a different definition of accountability -- one based on producing good learners, not high test scores.

At this California charter school, assessment comes in many forms.

Assessments should be taken throughout the learning process, not just at the end.

A San Diego community school uses innovative practices to help students critique their own work.

A series of portfolio presentations illustrate student achievement and comprehension.

Portfolios can help students aim high.

Charting students' reading comprehension.

A course to prepare students for postsecondary education.

A school tackles a variety of assessments to supplement traditional tests.

In rural Alaska, students help create their own digital portfolios as part of their parent conference.

This alternative high school draws a hard line.

Studies reveal that students learn best by doing.