TESTING 1, 2, 3...
I appreciated your honest comments about how taking the Marsden quiz and the assessment pre-test made you feel. Somehow, since I became a teacher I forgot how it feels to be frustrated and unable to "get the right answers." Going through the test-taking scenario again reminded me how so many of my students feel when they just don't know or understand what I want them to do.

In our reading for next class Haycock makes a point to empower teachers by revealing the findings of her study on teacher quality and student achievment. "We now know that what schools do matters and what teachers do may matter most of all." (p.36)
As you are reading "What We Know about the Achievement Gap," please think about the questions that the author poses in each section. Please tell us what you think about the chapter. Did you have any "new discoveries" about your teaching or our school?

Yesterday's class ranks among my most eventful ever. From spewing sodas to technology malfunctions and then a fire alarm...what a class! Thank you all for hanging in there.

Welcome back and welcome to our new study group members. I am looking forward to learning more about assessment with you this year and thinking about how literacy is important in all areas of students' lives. Thank you for being willing to go on this journey with me.

Our first post will be based on our discussion of what we already know about ourselves as learners and readers and on the E. Keene article you received in class.