Assessment
EdTech
Silverback Links with Linkit & Gooru
“We call it an instructional improvement system,” said Jim Lewis. As Blaine, Idaho superintendent, Lewis got fed up with the lousy systems designed for tracking student interventions and progress, so he built his own. Other districts asked to use his Mileposts tracking software and he realized they were solving a widespread need. He formed Silverback Learning Solutions in 2010 to make it better and share it more broadly.
Ed Policy
PARCC Provides Advice on Access and Test Administration
The 22 state assessment consortia PARCC issued administrative guidelines this week and they included more advice about access. Previously, PARCC issued updates the design of both the assessments and released item prototypes. District and school administrators should pay attention to the The PARCC Assessment Administration Capacity Planning Tool.
EdTech
Portfolio Provider Pathbrite Lands Another $4 Million
Pathbrite, announced today that it has completed a $4 Million Series A2 financing round that extends the $2.5 Million Series A financing round announced in June 2012. That brings the total raised to $8 million. Pathbrite is the leading provider of portfolio services to K-12 and…
Personalized Learning
Assessment All the Time? Why Not?
When talking with people who are not educators, I often think of Fannee Doollee, a character from the Zoom television series, which ran on PBS in the late seventies, who has a fascination with double letters. Fannee Doollee loves one thing but hates something very similar. For example, she loves swEEts but hates candy (notice the double EE in sweets). Similarly, in my conversation with parents and community leaders, I am always amazed at how they can advocate for one thing while mocking a possible solution.
Personalized Learning
Case Study Examines Prizes for Innovation in Assessment
Getting Smart® released a report on the Automated Student Assessment Prize (ASAP). The case study illustrates a powerful philanthropic use of prizes to drive focused innovation with the goal of promoting deeper learning.
Ed Policy
21 Months (and Counting) to Online Assessments
2012 is quickly drawing to a close. When the calendar page flips to 2013 in just a couple of weeks, we suspect that the 2014 implementation of the next generation of online assessments is suddenly going to feel much closer. That realization is sure to provoke a wave of high blood pressure fanning out across the land. But - have no fear - the new DLN Smart Series white paper is here!
Personalized Learning
Infographic: The Countdown to Next-Gen Assessments
Digital Learning Now! (DLN) today released “Getting Ready for Online Assessments,” the third interactive paper in the DLN Smart Series, which provides recommendations for states and districts to prepare for new, online assessments in the wake of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) implementation in the 2014-15 school year. Here is an infographic that describes the shift to the online assessments over the course of the next 21 months.
Ed Policy
Digital Learning Now! Offers Advice to States & Districts Preparing for Online Assessment
Digital Learning Now! (DLN) today released “Getting Ready For Online Assessments,” the third interactive paper in the DLN Smart Series, to plan a pathway of administering new, online assessments in the wake of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) implementation in the 2014-15 school year.
Personalized Learning
Powering the Real Revolution in Higher Education
We've heard a lot about Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) -- the breakout trend of the year -- but it's still a fringe concept feeding what Clayton Christensen calls non-consumption. The real story is how the diverse web of nearly 5,000 institutions (broadly speaking) of higher learning in the U.S. are responding to cost pressure, calls for higher completion rates and better job preparation, and student demands for relevance.
Ed Policy
Will Common Core State Standards Accelerate or Slow Innovation?
Some friends are working on a paper on the topic of common standards and innovation. The primary question is how and whether the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) will accelerate or slow innovation.