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"NOVA takes you simply, quickly and directly to resources that will inform your own strategic thinking on innovation in schools. for articles in the current issue addressing: assessment; case studies; curriculum; leadership; pedagogy; research; and thought leaders. NOVA focuses on leadership, curriculum, assessment, pedagogy and research, as well as bringing you thought leaders and case studies that address innovation." "

Formative assessment ideas. Edutopia's document contains 53 strategies to check for student understanding and is available for free download from here.

"A collection of rubrics for assessing portfolios, cooperative learning, research process/ report, PowerPoint, oral presentation, web page, blog, wiki, and other social media projects."

Recently I have been diving into the world of Assessment, seeking to better understand how we might design effective processes around this essential phase of the learning cycle. In doing so I have found a wealth of resources and quality reads that offer insights and strategies to be applied into our classrooms. Here then is a sampling of what I have been reading. 

"ITSL, in collaboration with the Centre of Program Evaluation at the University of Melbourne are conducting a three-year process and impact evaluation of the implementation of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. The purpose of the Evaluation is to assess the usefulness, effectiveness and impact of the Standards on improving teacher quality. Over 6,002 respondents including teachers, school leaders, pre-service teachers and teacher educators participated in the 2013 National Survey. Initial analysis from the survey highlights the key findings below."

"ITSL, in collaboration with the Centre of Program Evaluation at the University of Melbourne are conducting a three-year process and impact evaluation of the implementation of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. The purpose of the Evaluation is to assess the usefulness, effectiveness and impact of the Standards on improving teacher quality. Over 6,002 respondents including teachers, school leaders, pre-service teachers and teacher educators participated in the 2013 National Survey. Initial analysis from the survey highlights the key findings below."

A great article about using podcasts for assessment of yr 10 students to demonstrate their understanding of literary concepts

Reading Australia has been developed by the Copyright Agency and aims to make significant Australian literary works more readily available for teaching in schools and universities. These works are supplemented with online teacher resources and essays by popular authors about the enduring relevance of the works. There is a list of titles (download as a PDF). These titles have been selected by the Australian Society of Authors' (ASA) Council. They were asked to select works they thought students and others should encounter, to give a view of Australia's rich cultural identity: works that would tell Australia's history and also how we are currently developing as a nation. The ASA Council are adamant that this list should be merely the beginning, and it should be built upon with other works that have already been published, as well as the great new works that continue to be published in Australia. There is a wide range of teacher resources available (PDF) for Primary and Secondary school teachers and all of these teacher resources include classroom activities, assessments and links to the Australian Curriculum. In addition, many of the Secondary resources include an introductory essay on the text written by high profile writers. The Primary level resources have been commissioned by the Primary English Teaching Association of Australia and the Australian Literacy Educators' Association, and the resources for Secondary level have been jointly commissioned by the Australian Association for the Teaching of English and the English Teachers Association NSW."

Reading Australia has been developed by the Copyright Agency and aims to make significant Australian literary works more readily available for teaching in schools and universities. These works are supplemented with online teacher resources and essays by popular authors about the enduring relevance of the works. There is a list of titles (download as a PDF). These titles have been selected by the Australian Society of Authors' (ASA) Council. They were asked to select works they thought students and others should encounter, to give a view of Australia's rich cultural identity: works that would tell Australia's history and also how we are currently developing as a nation. The ASA Council are adamant that this list should be merely the beginning, and it should be built upon with other works that have already been published, as well as the great new works that continue to be published in Australia. There is a wide range of teacher resources available (PDF) for Primary and Secondary school teachers and all of these teacher resources include classroom activities, assessments and links to the Australian Curriculum. In addition, many of the Secondary resources include an introductory essay on the text written by high profile writers. The Primary level resources have been commissioned by the Primary English Teaching Association of Australia and the Australian Literacy Educators' Association, and the resources for Secondary level have been jointly commissioned by the Australian Association for the Teaching of English and the English Teachers Association NSW."

"While some education conferences are genuinely inspiring, others serve mostly to demonstrate how even intelligent educators can be remarkably credulous, nodding agreeably at descriptions of programs that ought to elicit fury or laughter, avidly copying down hollow phrases from a consultant's PowerPoint presentation, awed by anything that's borrowed from the business world or involves digital technology. Many companies and consultants thrive on this credulity, and also on teachers' isolation, fatalism, and fear (of demands by clueless officials to raise test scores at any cost). With a good dose of critical thinking and courage, a willingness to say "This is bad for kids and we won't have any part of it," we could drive these outfits out of business -- and begin to take back our schools."

found a stress test on the internet, so please begin here to assess how stressed you may be. If, after taking this very scientific test, you determine that you are moderately stressed, check out some of the following links and have fun!

Part of a professional development series for teachers about assessment for learning

US states spurred by the promise of $350 million in Race to the Top money for improved tests-as well as an opportunity to strengthen bids for part of the federal fund's larger $4 billion pot are scrambling to join consortia to develop common assessments.

Prompts main image The best prompts are the ones that spark a personal connection between the writer and their ideas. Provided here are some generic writing prompts to get you started, but you will also find some tips on how to write your own prompts. These self-written prompts will offer better starting blocks for your students than the generic prompts because they spring from the immediacy of their lives. Another source for writing prompts is Blowing Away the State Writing Assessment by Jane Bell Keister. Narrative 1. It is 20 years from now. Your name has just been called and you are about to receive an award. Tell the story of how you came to be so successful and win this award. (Gr. 6-12) 2. Rewrite a fairy tale from a different point of view. For instance, * The Three Pigs as the wolf would tell it * Hansel & Gretel as the witch would tell it OR, use any example you like. (Gr. 5-8) 3. Write a story based on one of the following: * Where is it? * Breaking loose * If I had my way ... * Suddenly, in the headlights ... * That noise! * Don't even remind me * The biggest nuisance * Annoying! * At last! (Gr. 5-12) 4. Think of your best or worst day in school. Tell the story of what happened. (Gr. 4 & up) 5. Write a story based on ONE of the following * Little brothers (or sisters) * Older sisters (or brothers) * A narrow escape * My first memory * I'd like to go back * You won't believe it, but ... (Gr. 4 & up) 6. Think of a friend you have, in or out of school. Tell one story that comes to mind when you think of this friend. (All grades) 7. Think of an event you will want to remember when you are old. Tell about what happened in a way that's so clear that if you read this story again when you are eighty, every detail will come flooding back as if it happened y

Prompts main image The best prompts are the ones that spark a personal connection between the writer and their ideas. Provided here are some generic writing prompts to get you started, but you will also find some tips on how to write your own prompts. These self-written prompts will offer better starting blocks for your students than the generic prompts because they spring from the immediacy of their lives. Another source for writing prompts is Blowing Away the State Writing Assessment by Jane Bell Keister. Narrative 1. It is 20 years from now. Your name has just been called and you are about to receive an award. Tell the story of how you came to be so successful and win this award. (Gr. 6-12) 2. Rewrite a fairy tale from a different point of view. For instance, * The Three Pigs as the wolf would tell it * Hansel & Gretel as the witch would tell it OR, use any example you like. (Gr. 5-8) 3. Write a story based on one of the following: * Where is it? * Breaking loose * If I had my way ... * Suddenly, in the headlights ... * That noise! * Don't even remind me * The biggest nuisance * Annoying! * At last! (Gr. 5-12) 4. Think of your best or worst day in school. Tell the story of what happened. (Gr. 4 & up) 5. Write a story based on ONE of the following * Little brothers (or sisters) * Older sisters (or brothers) * A narrow escape * My first memory * I'd like to go back * You won't believe it, but ... (Gr. 4 & up) 6. Think of a friend you have, in or out of school. Tell one story that comes to mind when you think of this friend. (All grades) 7. Think of an event you will want to remember when you are old. Tell about what happened in a way that's so clear that if you read this story again when you are eighty, every detail will come flooding back as if it happened y

Are rubrics a brave new world of assessment? Or are they merely a way for educators to justify the grades they give? And what effect do grades have on learning?

For schools in Australia and many parts of the world, we are heading towards the end of another school term and year. That means report writing season. For the next few weeks, teachers across the country will be huddled in front of computer screens, writing reflections on the progress their learners have made. Mark books will be opened, assessments consulted, work samples will be reviewed. All so that in the first week of the long Summer vacation students can sit and read their report and make plans for how they will enhance their learning in the coming year.

As with many things in education, the outcome achieved will be a result of all that we do. Efforts to promote and empower student agency, voice and choice certainly falls into this category. We might have the best of intentions but unless each of our messaging systems align, we are unlikely to achieve success. So where do our efforts go wrong and what else might we change so that student agency is genuinely a part of our learning environment?

Some good inquiry-based science assessment tasks here... http://t.co/VGv0s93N - Trevor Hinchliffe (TJHinchliffe) http://twitter.com/TJHinchliffe/status/267583455934689280