Authors

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a long-standing challenge in U.S. schools to the forefront: more than two-thirds of students cannot read at grade level. Alarmingly, if students are not proficient in reading by the end of third grade, they are more likely to drop out. This realization has sparked a growing interest in the science of reading, a decades-long body of interdisciplinary research that examines the multifaceted nature of reading development. By embedding the science of reading into instructional practices, teachers can ensure students recognize words and understand their meaning—thus supporting reading fluency.

Join an all-star lineup of assessment and grading experts and master practitioners, and get ready to turbocharge learning. Teachers will learn how to spark a growth mindset in students, avoid the most common mistakes in assessment design and analysis, and collaborate in teams to identify specific learning issues for targeted instructional solutions. Leaders will learn how to design structures, protocols, and schedules that empower collaborative teacher teams to develop, score, analyze, and respond to assessment.

Researchers and practitioners alike agree that schools will not achieve high levels of learning for all students until improvements are made to school culture. Recent events, including the global pandemic, teacher wellness, staff absence, and the national teacher shortage have made it crystal clear that people matter more than programs and systems.