Amidst all the hoopla about Common Core standards, and how to teach the lessons so students are ready for the new assessments, there is a quiet but very significant understanding that underlies all the standards. This key value, which all the standards are designed to achieve, is proficient practice. The standards want the students to…
In a previous post, we discussed the first five ways that Common Core lessons are different from the traditional approach teachers have used. What we saw was that Common Core doesn’t look different to the casual observer in a classroom, but from a teacher’s point of view, it is dramatically different. The big difference is…
Mr. Smith, the principal, walks into teacher Ann Lassen’s fifth- grade classroom to observe the class. He sees Mrs. Lassen presenting information to the class. Sometimes she uses PowerPoint, sometimes a document camera, and sometimes she just talks. He sees the students actively engaged in discussing the lesson and practicing what they are learning. Afterwards,…
Redefining Student Success When Rachel Tomlinson, headteacher of a primary school in Lancashire, England, sent out a letter with her Year 6 students’ test results, she never expected all the attention it would generate. In it, she tells her students that they are far more than just a score on an exam. Her powerful words…
Each state that has adopted Common Core State Standards will select an assessment consortium to assess how children are progressing in school. The two options most widely chosen at this point are: Smarter Balanced and PARCC. Each assessment consortium has provided practice test questions and today we will review one of these questions and discuss its potential impact on classroom instruction. Below…
Each state that has adopted Common Core State Standards will select an assessment consortium to assess how children are progressing in school. The two options most widely chosen at this point are: Smarter Balanced and PARCC. Each assessment consortium has provided practice test questions and today we will review one of these questions and discuss its potential impact on classroom instruction.…
Pencils and Scantrons are a thing of the past! No more rote memorization and long hours spent cramming for the test! Common Core assessments are computer-based adaptive tests that require students to use critical thinking skills to answer a variety of questions from the simple (read: traditional) to the complex (read: these are intense!). One…
Each state that has adopted Common Core State Standards will select an assessment consortium to assess how children are progressing in school. The two options most widely chosen at this point are: Smarter Balanced and PARCC. Each assessment consortium has provided practice test questions and today we will review one of these questions and discuss…
Learning Objectives Guides are digital books that help teachers shift from just reading state standards to quickly creating lesson plans that focus on the required skills and content. Guides are available for Common Core, Next Generation Science, Literacy, and more for K-12 teachers. View All Guides Frequently at DataWORKS, we are asked what it takes…
Common Core Assessment Analysis Each state that has adopted Common Core State Standards will select an assessment consortium to assess how children are progressing in school. The two options most widely chosen at this point are: Smarter Balanced and PARCC. Each assessment consortium has provided practice test questions and today we will review one…