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BlogsTeacher and Administrator Evaluations
One of the least favorite jobs of every educational administrator I know is personnel evaluations. They are time-consuming and ambiguous. They do not motivate high performers and hardly ever change low performers. Here are three ideas to make this task more useful. First, provide feedback throughout the year, not just at the end of […] -
BlogsHow Grading Reform Helps High Achieving Students
A frequent objection to grading reform is that it is designed only to help low-achieving students. That is because the most publicized results of grading reform have to do with reducing failures. Consider three examples: First, when teachers use the latest and best evidence (rather than the average) to determine final grades, students are no […] -
Blogs
Rethinking the Valedictorian
We’re coming into graduation season, replete with caps, gowns, and proud parents — while the prospective valedictorians fight for the last one-thousandth of a point. Let’s stop and rethink this. First, we are all in favor of recognizing academic excellence. Students who work hard and play by the rules, upholding school values and […] -
Blogs
Homework and Practice: A Synthesis of the Research
There are few more emotional topics in education than homework. Advocates of homework contend that it is necessary because students need practice. The other side in the debate claims that homework is little more than an exercise in mindless compliance – “busywork,” in the terminology students often use. Here is a summary of recent research […] -
Blogs
Sustained Silent Sitting? Getting the Most Out of Independent Reading Time
Almost every literacy block includes a period of independent silent reading. This practice was born of good intentions and based on research that suggested that students who read independently for at least 20 minutes per day scored better on test of reading comprehension than their peers who did not. But there’s a problem. What we […] -
Blogs
Time Saving Strategies for Busy Leaders
“Saving time” is impossible, because it is one commodity we cannot save. Each day, when our allotted 1,440 minutes have expired, we can only look at those minutes as water flowing down the river. If we did not use those minutes, they have passed down the stream, never to be used again. But what we […] -
Blogs
Two Ways to Stop Teacher Burnout on a Budget: Travel and Exercise
This is guest post by Lillie Marshall, a Boston teacher (since 2003) and global education blogger (since 2009) at TeachingTraveling.com and AroundTheWorldL.com. I’ve long admired Lille’s work to help teachers gain an international perspective with practical advice for travelers. Enjoy her post and check out her web site! In every teacher’s year, there comes a […] -
Blogs
Cheating Our Daughters: Four Toxic Messages Behind the “Good Girl Effect”
How can young women with honor-roll grades and positive recommendations from teachers flounder in college? Why do women who excel in school often struggle to achieve promotions in the workplace? It’s time to rethink what we reward and how we reward it, because our daughters are getting some toxic messages about what being a “good […] -
Blogs
The Sucker Punch: Honor Roll Grades for Poor Performance
“The acid test is to stop looking at official documents and start looking at real student work.” The world of education owes a huge debt to The New Teacher Project – TNTP. Their most recent work focuses on the critical difference between our aspirations – students who wish to go to college and succeed in […] -
Blogs
Dramatic Turnaround in One Semester: Another Case of 100-Day Leaders
Want to know who the real #EdHeroes and #100DayLeaders are? They are the teachers and administrators working in exceptionally challenging circumstances who bring honor to our profession by their commitment to students and, more broadly, to the principle that effective teaching makes a difference. This past week I was privileged to watch Michael Doll, Tom […] -
Blogs
Five Time-Saving Tips for Busy Teachers
1. Three-column rubrics. Teachers often bear the brunt of providing feedback to students, underestimating how accurately they can score their own work. The three-column rubric saves time and places the responsibility for assessment where it belongs: on the student. The left-hand column lists the explicit expectations of the teacher for the assignment. For a first grader, […] -
Blogs
Five Skills Colleges Really Want Now
One of the most common challenges I receive when I suggest improvements in K-12 education is, “…but this won’t help them when they go to college!” The premise of this challenge is that colleges and universities remain today as they were in centuries past: institutions that rely on multiple choice tests, one-shot opportunities for success, […]
Creative Leadership Blog
Dr. Douglas Reeves and colleagues regularly publish on relevant topics for busy educators. Whether it is a book, article, or blog, each contain facts and practical next steps for practitioners. As with all our resources, please share with colleagues and communities.
