Assessment

Amy Tollefson is the district-level principal with Osseo Area Schools in a diverse suburb of Minneapolis. Over more than 20 years, she has also served as a secondary school principal, secondary social studies teacher, district office coordinator, and assistant principal.

Rea Smith is an elementary mathematics and science curriculum specialist in northwestern Arkansas. She passionately supports the work of professional learning communities with a focus on common assessments to improve student and teacher learning.

Matt Townsley, EdD, is an associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He is a former district administrator and teacher in Solon Community Schools, also in Iowa, where he led curriculum, assessment, and school-improvement initiatives, all under the umbrella of a professional learning community philosophy.

Nathan L. Wear is the associate superintendent and chief academic officer of Linn-Mar CSD in Marion, Iowa. He has served as an elementary teacher and as an elementary and high school principal.

Assessment sits at the center of instructional decisions and multitiered systems of support that ensure student success. This webinar, featuring assessment expert Nicole Dimich, will provide guidance in how to design meaningful assessments and set up information that empowers teachers to be instructionally agile and students to be invested in their learning.

Given the complexity of today’s educational landscape, it might feel as if we have to choose between assessing our students or supporting their social-emotional wellness. However, when we assess with intention and care, and use the results to support intellectual needs while also attending to social and emotional needs, we don’t have to choose!

Learn how to balance traditional written assessments with performance tasks and conversations, and how to harness the power of tablets and smartphones to capture digital evidence of students' learning.

Dawn Caruso, EdD, is a former district administrator of assessment and accountability in Florida. She also served as a virtual school administrator as well as a literacy coach at the state and school level.

With more than 35 years of experience as an educator, Peter Marshall most recently served as a school administrator and in a central office position as the principal for leadership and staff development.

At this point in the school year, with so much time and energy already invested and so much left to do, it can be challenging to keep teachers and students alike highly engaged. This is especially true today, as we emerge from a pandemic and feel the weight of our challenges even more.