Download a PDF of the Key Takeaways
Is there a better way than standardized tests to find out what students are learning? A small number of states, districts, and educators have long sought to find an answer to that question. Problem- and project-based learning, cooperative learning, portfolios, senior projects, and competence-based learning—to name a few—are all versions of this ongoing movement to evaluate students on what they can do with what they know rather than their test-taking skills.
But evaluating student learning this way can be highly subjective:
- How can teachers and administrators assess students’ performance in fair, constructive ways?
- What are the biggest challenges to implementing performance-based learning and how are schools getting around them?
- How do you know students are acquiring the deeper learning that projects were intended to cultivate?
Education Week offers a big-picture look at the current state of performance assessment and pinpoints some best practices. In this virtual event, Education Week journalists and guests will staff online “discussion” rooms on a host of topics, including group work, the move to competency-based learning, and new efforts to abolish letter grades.
Join them on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, from 1 to 3 p.m. ET, for a deep dive into student assessments in your schools. This Online Summit provides you a unique opportunity to directly interact with reporters and assessment experts and practitioners and to watch a livestreamed series of interviews with the reporters after they’ve “broken it down” with you.
Event Video
Student Assessments: In Conversation With Education Week
Agenda
An On-the-Ground Perspective on Performance Assessment
Performance Assessment and College Admissions
Letter Grades: Help or a Hindrance?
Making Group Projects Fair for Everyone
Making Assessment Painless
Measure Achievement Without Overtesting: How to Get Powerful Feedback that Helps Schools Grow
Learn how to increase achievement, modify instruction, and monitor progress with the power of formative assessments. From computer-adaptive diagnostic and screening programs to ongoing progress monitoring, see how fun and engaging activities can measure growth while boosting student success.
Defining, Measuring, and Fueling Student Mastery
Adopting a mastery approach to student learning involves several key questions: What constitutes "mastery"? How does it develop? How do you accurately measure it? And—most importantly—how do you help students achieve it? Join Renaissance for an interactive discussion of these critical points, along with tips and strategies for matching every student with tasks and projects at the right level of challenge to inspire deeper learning.
Final Reporter Wrap-up
Led by the reporters, the Education Week newsroom will close out the day with insights from the discussions they’ve had with you, the readers.