Disciplinary literacy and student-centered instruction and assessment in secondary social studies
This Learning Point describes the disciplinary literacy practices used in the social sciences to make sense of the world: those grounded in inquiry, argumentation, and source analysis.
Disciplinary literacy in mathematics and the need to develop mathematical reasoning
Mathematical literacy depends on developing mathematical reasoning–the ability to use what a student already knows to develop solutions for what they do not yet know (IES 2025). This Learning Point suggests that the focus in math classes on algorithms as answer-finding tools results in a dearth of the mathematical reasoning ability that defines a mathematician.
Early Literacy Assessment Systems that Support Learning
This guide explains the necessary components and attributes of an assessment system designed to support the development of literacy.
Early Literacy Systems that Support Learning Executive Summary
Educator Effectiveness Resource
Educator Evaluation -Models, Parameters, Issues and Implementation
This paper describes two methods for educator evaluation.
Effective Instructional Leadership Requires Assessment Leadership
This article describes what principals need to know about assessment and how they can support the teachers in their buildings.
Embedding Performance Assessment in Instruction
The recorded presentation with Ed Roeber, Assessment Director, MAC, and accompanying article Re-balancing Assessment by Hoffman, Goodwin and Kahl set the stage to create a set of prioritized standards and develop performance assessments to embed in ongoing instruction and highlight the benefits of collaboratively scoring student work
Expanding assessment literacy: A pitch to American publishers
Two missions are undertaken in this ThinkPoint essay by James Popham. He says, “Mission One is to convince readers that the single most cost-effective way to improve our schools is to increase the assessment literacy of concerned clienteles. Mission Two is to invite American publishers, chiefly those who publish books or journals dealing with educational testing, to participate actively in promoting a nationwide expansion of assessment literacy.”
FAME Website: Formative Assessment for Michigan Educators (FAME)
FAME Website: Formative Assessment for MI Educators (FAME) is a professional learning initiative sponsored by the Michigan Department of Education. This site supports the program and contains many high-quality resources and links.
Formative assessment(s) or formative assessment? The “s” makes a difference.
This Learning Point describes the misconception that results when using the term “formative assessmentS” to describe the formative assessment PROCESS.
Formative Assessment: An Enabler of Learning
This short article by Margaret Heritage summarizes what we know about the potential of formative assessment practice to support and advance learning.