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Eric.ed.gov – Implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act: Toward a Coherent, Aligned Assessment System

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In December 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced No Child Left Behind (NCLB), as the nation’s major law governing public schools. ESSA retains the requirement that states test all students in reading and math in grades three through eight and once in high school, as well as the requirement that states ensure those tests align with states’ college- and career-ready standards. However, the law makes significant changes to the role of tests in state education systems. For example, ESSA requires states to include a broader set of factors in school accountability systems rather than just test scores; provides funding for states and districts to audit and streamline their testing regimes; and allows states to cap the amount of instructional time… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Improving Math and Science Assessment. Report on the Secretary’s Third Conference on Mathematics and Science Education (Washington, DC, September 20-21, 1993).

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The third conference on improving mathematics and science assessment brought together more than 550 educators, researchers, and policymakers. Recommendations and information from the conference are incorporated into this report. Conference consensus was that students must recognize that there is more to assessment than grades and scores and begin to see assessment as a crucial and integral part of education. They should assume increasing responsibility for documenting and reflecting on their own progress as they move through school. Parents and the public must hold high expectations for instruction and for student participation. Teachers will hold all students, regardless of their backgrounds, to high standards and will recognize that assessment cannot be separated from learning. Principals and other administrators must oversee the reform of mathematics and science assessment and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Alabama Education News. Volume 28, Number 9

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: “Alabama Education News” is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the “Code of Alabama”, as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about programs and goals of public education in Alabama. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Effective School Bus Maintenance Combats High Fuel Costs; (2) Torchbearer Schools Light Up Student Performance; (3) Alabama among First States to Administer New ELL Test; (4) School Systems Consistently Receive National Award; (5) School of Fine Arts Director Pens Drama Highlighting Birmingham’s Racial History; (6) $10,000 Recycling Rewards for 10 Alabama Public Schools; (7) Math Tournament Readies Students for State Tests; (8)… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Establishing a Strong Foundation: District and School-Level Supports for Classroom Implementation of the LDC and MDC Frameworks. Executive Summary

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in the development and dissemination of high-quality instructional and formative assessment tools to support teachers’ incorporation of the Core Common State Standards (CCSS) into their classroom instruction. Literacy experts have developed a framework and a set of templates that teachers can use to develop content area modules focused on high quality writing tasks closely tied to subject area texts. Math experts have developed formative assessment lessons (FALs) that teachers can incorporate throughout the year’s curriculum. Across both content areas, the tools target the “instructional core” by raising the level of content; enhancing teachers’ skill and knowledge about instruction, content and formative assessment; and catalyzing student engagement in their learning so that they will achieve at high levels. These tools… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Readiness Matters! 2014-2015 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Maryland’s demanding new Kindergarten Readiness Assessment was administered statewide for the first time. Its results are revealing and sobering. Many states do not even check in any systematic way on their children’s readiness for kindergarten, and in previous years, Maryland used metrics based on modest expectations, outdated standards, and feel-good politics. With the leadership of State Superintendent Lillian Lowery and Assistant Superintendent Rolf Grafwallner, Maryland has brought a new sense of reality to the skills that five-year-olds should possess if they are truly prepared to succeed in kindergarten and the early grades. These span four domains, two of them cognitive (language, math), plus physical well-being (motor development, hygiene, etc.) and what they term “social foundations” (self-control, for example). The assessment is individually administered by kindergarten teachers and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Beyond the Basics: Achieving a Liberal Education for All Children

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Citing Aristotle, Franklin and Einstein as proponents of a broad, liberal-arts education, Finn and Ravitch promote the need for liberal learning as preparatory to the civic life needed for a well-functioning democracy. Drawing together the work of a number of educators, the editors have organized this volume in two sections. Part I, Liberal Learning: Its Value and Future, includes three papers that advocate both for liberal learning, and for a common curriculum. Part II, Restoring Liberal Art to the K-12 Curriculum, features eleven explorations of how to expand liberal learning by improving accountability systems, teacher training and education delivery. Maintaining that their support of liberal learning is well-documented, the editors conclude the volume by noting four opposing trends: (1) Gradual extinction of liberal learning in higher education;… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Alternative Assessments in Math and Science: Moving toward a Moving Target. A Joint Study.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Given the restructuring of curriculum and instruction and the changing state of assessment in Virginia and nationally, a study group of 22 Virginia teachers from elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools throughout the state chose to examine and revise their assessment practices. They wanted to reflect changes in thinking and practice in teaching that include active learning, cooperative learning, and critical thinking strategies. After 6 months of developing and implementing alternative assessments in their classrooms, study group members concluded that implementation strategies should include: (1) planning assessment as instruction is planned; (2) having a partner with whom to share ideas; (3) developing generic rubrics; (4) expecting to learn by trial and error; (5) attempting student peer assessment; and (6) using cooperative grouping for completing assessment tasks.… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The State of Basic Math at T-VI: A Report from the Faculty.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: As part of an effort to improve basic math instruction at Vocational-Technical Institute (T-VI) in New Mexico, a survey was conducted asking teachers, tutors, and instructional technicians to assess the importance of and student performance on 35 basic math competencies. Survey responses were then related to two national standards of mathematical literacy: the vocational standards of the Secretary of Labor’s Commission on Achieving the Necessary Skills (SCANS) and the academic standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Study highlights included the following: (1) several skills seen as important by SCANS and NCTM were viewed as unimportant by teachers of math and math-related subjects, including “working together in groups to solve problems,””using calculators,””ability to estimate,””ability to use measuring tools and systems,” and “ability to use… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Effects of TRIAD on Mathematics Achievement: Long-Term Impacts

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Although some research-based educational practices have shown promise, many fail to be implemented at a scale that affects more than a small proportion of children. Further, research on interventions for young children includes mixed results, with most documenting “fadeout” of effects after several years, but some showing lasting effects. In this study, the authors evaluated the long-term impacts of a model for scaling up early interventions, in this case a successful early mathematics curriculum, testing to see whether the originally-sustained impacts persisted up to 7 years beyond baseline. The original evaluation of TRIAD (Technology-enhanced, Research-based, Instruction, Assessment, and professional Development) employed a cluster randomized trial (CRT) design to test the effectiveness of the TRIAD scale-up approach, using the Building Blocks® early mathematics curriculum (BB) in preschool. In… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Title I Elementary Math Program of Minneapolis: 1972-74. No. C-74-34.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The aim of the Title I math program was to improve the teaching of mathematics at the primary level in Title I schools. School staff and Parent Advisory Committee members had suggested and helped plan the focus of the project. It was expected that improved teaching would raise the level of understanding of basic mathematics skills and concepts of primary pupils. Testing of the children, however, was incomplete and inconclusive. All Title I primary teachers were eligible for the project. Most of the teachers from 25 public and 9 nonpublic schools availed themselves of the services offered by the project during the two years, 1972-74, covered by this report. This evaluation concentrated on the activities of the project and teachers’ responses to those activities. Teachers received over… Continue Reading