Classroom assessments are at the heart of every classroom, yet when it comes to systematic work, classroom assessments are underutilized. When the right conditions are set, classroom assessments can become central to school improvement efforts. They can also provide educators with more detailed, precise, and...
In recent years, so much of the work of interpreting student learning, setting goals, grouping students, and differentiating has been outsourced to publishers, assessment companies, and technology solutions. The PLC movement shifts the power dynamic: re-empowering teachers to improve instruction through a collaborative process directed...
Data does not necessarily improve practice. It does not necessarily improve focus, communication, instruction, or other factors that lead to improved student learning. Meaningful data, that is, data that becomes information and leads to intelligent actions, can improve practice. Unfortunately, truly meaningful data can be...
Forefront supports RtI/MTSS by helping teachers identify students who are in need of extra supports and pinpoint areas of need. Our program amplifies and simplifies the work of teachers to evaluate student learning and monitor their progress, making student learning directly linked to classroom instruction...
The issue of language in the math classroom is especially acute when it comes to word problems. When helping districts analyze their assessment data, it is almost inevitable that we will find struggles in standards related to word problems, especially 2-step word problems. In my experience,...
A piece of paper cannot assess. An assessment becomes formative when the information from that assessment is responded to. When a teacher uses the information from an assessment to impact instruction it becomes a formative assessment. When a teacher uses the information from an assessment to...
Forefront's "Global Cohorts" aggregate student performance data to create national benchmarks for math programs in our assessment catalog. We devote this post to a look back at each of the Global Cohort groups for Bridges in Mathematics, the BVSD Screeners, and Eureka Math in 2018-19....
The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation marks a critical point, not just because it triggered the development of state assessments, but because the legislation created a need for assessment data throughout the year. Leaders across the country realized that they did not want to...
The core of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) premise is that education communities must also be learning communities. As leaders and instigators of change, how do we recognize that learning? How do we see professional community growth? What are the characteristics of intelligent professional communities?...
The switch to standards-based grading increases specificity and accuracy: focusing on performance rather than progress and correctness rather than process. The standards-based mindset sees that each student is complex with strengths and areas for growth even within a specific area of the curriculum. This need...