Pa. school improves behavior through neuroscience
An alternative school in Pennsylvania has improved students’ behavior by adopting a neuroscience-based approach. In this interview, the school’s principal, Jessica Milton, and executive director, Ron Hall, share how the approach helps them teach, manage behavior and address challenges they face.
Full Story: Education Dive
Report ties factors outside school to outcomes
High-school graduation rates are trending upward, and prekindergarten enrollment and eighth-grade math proficiency have remained steady, according to the 2019 Kids Count Data Book. The report also examines how socioeconomic factors, health, family and community issues affect outcomes for students.
Full Story: Education Dive
Are standardized tests effective?
Standardized tests — in their current form — are largely ineffective in measuring student learning, writes Margaret Pastor, an elementary-school principal in Maryland. In this commentary, she asserts that in actuality teachers — not tests — are best able to identify students’ abilities.
Full Story: Education Week Teacher (tiered subscription model)
How to make grading less subjective
There are several ways teachers can make grading fairer and less subjective, writes educator Cheryl Mizerny. In this blog post, she shares six strategies, including establishing clear criteria for graded work, reconsidering assigning zeroes and considering using weighted grade categories.
Full Story: MiddleWeb
Boosting pre-K to grade 5 reading comprehension
Students in prekindergarten through fifth grade at a school in New York City are participating in a five-step process to engage with challenging texts and deepen their reading comprehension. Principal Alexa Sorden, a former literacy coach, has integrated literacy learning throughout the curriculum with a combination of close reading and shared reading in six-week modules.
Full Story: Edutopia online
Audrey Altmann is an editorial assistant at SmartBrief.
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