Teaching evaluation systems should support student growth. If students aren't growing, it's probably due to skewed data. District leaders can fix a skewed data problem and create a strong evaluation system with a few important changes.
Teachers are essential. Teachers provide the foundation that helps children succeed in life.
I want to talk about the hot topic of Student Growth, but I’m going to take the long way around. So let's begin with a little pop quiz:
The easiest method to determine growth is to take a measurement, take a second measurement at a later time, and subtract the results.
Is it possible to foster a growth mindset in the presence of high-stakes testing? I would argue that it is, so long as we keep ourselves grounded in the purpose of assessment.
When I was in high school, I loved spreadsheets. I used to design measurement tools to test my friends' abstract psychological constructs like "Movie Trivia Content Mastery" and generate data tables of the results.
A few years back I had the opportunity to work for a term as an instructional coach at a Scottish boarding school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
In the shadow of high-stakes state testing and accountability, sometimes “assessment” can feel like a four-letter word (test).
