Suspending Suspensions
Briana Robinson is no big fan of suspension as a disciplinary tool. “They come to school to learn and I want them to be in school as much as possible. When a student is ...
Assessment and Evaluation
The Unique Needs of Gifted Students
Teaching gifted learners doesn’t excite everyone. Resources for these students can be sparse. Assessments may take years to schedule, and even then, not all educators agree on ...
More Than Just My GPA
The grades that make up a student’s GPA are just a tiny portion of what they achieve throughout the year. I can confidently say I have learned the least from taking tests and ...
The Problem With Standardized Testing
Many teachers acknowledge that comparative assessment techniques, such as standardized tests, often measure performance more than knowledge. Students may recite information, ...
Help Students Manage Test Anxiety
Tests and exams cause anxiety in teachers and students. The growing frequency of standardized tests and ongoing reports about ongoing mental-health issues among children and ...
Students as Teachers
I love to read. I consume as many books as my schedule allows and often find the time even when there isn’t any. However, that quantity combined with my overloaded memory ...
Practical Tips to Prevent Plagiarism
Students plagiarize. But they don’t create the problem. Often, teachers do. Some assignments are easy to plagiarize. Teachers need to create assignments that require more than ...
Reporting on Report Cards
The debate about report cards isn’t limited to contract negotiations. It represents perennial debates in education: what learning means, and how it can be evaluated.
Homework: Help or Hindrance?
Each day after school, eight-year-old Miranda heads home and unwinds from the social school day, plays outside, and has a snack. But after dinner it’s time for Miranda to get ...
Serenity, A Personal Essay on Standardized Testing
“I went into teaching so that I could help children perform well on standardized testing,” said no teacher, ever. And yet, we allow our self-esteem, our feelings of efficacy, ...