In Service

As I discussed in previous entries, classroom data can be the most powerful data that teachers gather and discuss collaboratively. Using classroom data to inform instruction can pay off in incredible ways…..but which data might teachers consider gathering?
Supposing that teachers have already deconstructed historical state assessment data, teachers might begin by revisiting those performance indicators [...]

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How did YOU feel when you perused this document for the first time?
I know how I felt.
And I know how a few hundred teachers in Erie County felt as well.
Just a teensy bit overwhelmed. And kind of in need of a drink. Despite any happy rumors we heard, the new Core was not more specific, [...]

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As a coordinator for curriculum and staff development, I have the good fortune of working with many data-savvy administrators and teachers. Eager to uncover what the New York State Assessments truly demanded of students, and more importantly, determined to develop a common, deeply aligned curriculum that would produce results, this very group of educators challenged [...]

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Students and teachers in New York State spend a good portion of their school year sharpening their skills and knowledge in preparation for the English Language Arts Assessements in grades 3-8 and the Regents Examination, offered in grade 11. Ironically, if you were to ask many teachers to predict what was going to be on [...]

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If my building principal had pulled me aside ten years ago and asked me how I used data to inform my instruction, I would have handed her my latest stack of unit tests or essays and explained that at the end of each unit, I tried to get a handle on what my students were still [...]

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Stephen Peters is a former classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, and director of secondary education. He is the author of Inspired to Learn: Why We Must Give Children Hope and Do You Know Enough About Me to Teach Me? He’s served on panels, hung out with everyone from Oprah Winfrey to the former U.S. Secretary [...]

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