Assessment

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1. //Research into assessment practice// shows that students perform better when they are given clear goals, multiple opportunities to reach those goals, and specific feedback and practice as they develop the necessary skills and concepts.======

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2. //Communication//: Parents and students have access to very specific information about areas of strengths and areas that need improvement. Instead of calling and asking why your child has a "C", the discussion can focus on how the home and school can support the child's progress on a particular idea or concept.======

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3. //Making instructional decisions//: Teachers have more detailed information to use when designing learning activities in the classroom. For example, an "83%" might mean you did Ok but still had room for growth but the number does not tell you which area requires improvement.======

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4. //Grades become more meaningful.// Grades are based on what the child shows they understand. This understanding may be shown in multiple ways and in multiple formats. The key idea is that students are given the opportunity to make the "learning target" their own; they know what it is and can show they know it based on their learning style or preference. This system removes the issues with grade inflation (where a kid gets a higher grade becuase he/she has learned to "play" school-does homework everyday, keeps an organized notebook, completes classwork, does extra creadit) and grade deflation (where one forgotten homework receives a zero or one bad test grade on one of those days where nothing goes right-and we all know what happens to the average at this point).======