Category Archives: Blog

standards-based grading system

Give Teachers the Tools for Standards-Based Grading

  If your school or district embraces a standards-based grading system, your staff has already done much of the hard work of changing…
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number sense

The Number Sense Lens

Lenses are conceptual frameworks to organize ideas, skills, concepts, and developmental milestones. They provide educators with shared perspectives on expectations and outcomes, and…
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How Assessments Can Hurt Student Learning

Every district, school, and classroom teacher has to develop ways to understand student learning. In the wake of the pandemic, assessment needs are…
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assessment data: how much do you need?

Overall Performance Levels

Overall performance levels can be helpful, when used well. When there are repeated assessments, overall performance can help teachers quickly and easily understand…
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USNS predictive validity

USNS Predictive Validity

3 Questions at the Beginning of Second Grade Three questions from the fall Universal Screeners for Number Sense (USNS) reliably identify students who…
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usns implementation

Better Grading Practices Can Strengthen MTSS

These two and a half years of learning through the pandemic have impacted student learning. They have also revealed many of the inequities…
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Not All Tests Are Bad. Some Are.

6 key components to help you evaluate assessments and know the difference Not all assessments are equal. There are high-quality assessments. There are…
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bridges math data feature image

Bridges Math Data Show Consistent Learning

Interruptions have impacted student learning nationwide. Measured by state tests, college entrance exams, and third-party assessment solutions, including benchmark and interim test solutions,…
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screening for rti/mtss

Math Screeners in an RtI/MTSS System

  “RtI begins with high-quality instruction and universal screening for all students.” IES Practice Guide, US DOE, 2009 It is a great trend…
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universal screening

Elementary Math Screener USNS Fall Results

A Reflection on USNS Results after 18 months of Covid-19 Pandemic The elementary math screener Universal Screeners for Number Sense (USNS)'s fall results…
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