History and Background The Universal Screeners for Number Sense (USNS) released in three phases during the 2020-2021 school year are the result of more than a decade of development. They are iterations of the Boulder Valley School District’s Math Screeners implemented beginning in 2008. Feedback from...
Addressing Number Sense as a Whole Group, Small Group or One-on-One When looking at results of the Universal Screeners for Number Sense, I have been asked questions about which things should be addressed in small instructional groups or when something is better addressed as a whole class...
Getting back to “normal” may not happen until next fall. Or 2022. Nonetheless, the best chance to make up for the losses of the 20-21 school year is to prepare this spring for the fall. Now is the time to prepare for the recovery. Multiple studies...
There are a variety of tools that can be used to measure student learning. From standardized tests to exit tickets, the purposes and intended audiences of assessment tools vary greatly. This year, formal assessments have been especially difficult to administer. When administered remotely, the validity of...
Teachers and school and district leadership have less student learning data than ever before. Many teachers may welcome cancelled state standardized tests that otherwise distract from regular instruction. On the other hand, leaders may feel that they have less information about how the "COVID year"...
Formative assessments impact instruction directly. When teachers use formative instructional practices, they assess students, interpret results, and respond. Tools and strategies for formative assessments range from just noticing students who look frustrated to exit tickets, polls, surveys, and quizzes. These practices happen independently in classrooms,...
More students than ever are failing. In a recent meeting with math leaders, we considered the case of high school mathematics grades in a district where failure rates had increased by 34%. We were stunned. What to do? The pandemic is one source of the blame:...
Revised versions of the Universal Screeners for Number Sense (USNS) were released in July 2020 and the initial interest has been exciting. Unique downloads of the Screeners are approaching 3,000 as of the date of this article. Forefront, which supports the collection and analysis of classroom...
Classroom assessments are closely aligned to instructional programs. They serve a variety of purposes for teachers: grading, informing instruction, and for teacher collaboration. At this time when classroom assessments are more difficult than ever to administer, their importance is never more paramount. Classroom assessments do not...
Aligning Classroom Practice with School-wide Systems School-wide systems exist first and foremost to support teachers to create effective classrooms. As we emerge from this epidemic, it will be more important than ever for schools to align their initiatives. To maximize learning for all students, schools must...