What will assessment look like in the Fall?

How do I implement ethical assessment practices?

How can I be sure there is no cheating/copying/plagiarizing happening at home?

If I don’t know what format school will be in this Fall, how can I start planning for assessment?

We know that educators everywhere are asking themselves these questions and many, many more. Assessment is a huge concern as we try to look forward and plan for the countless unknowns of the next school year. SDE recognizes that assessment is going to look very different from district to district as teachers figure out what will work best for them and their students.

How SDE Can Help

Our education consultants are ready to help tackle these tough conversations and help you create a plan for how to move forward. They pull from years of experience, and many of our consultants have recently spent time thinking about how to help schools with the many challenges they are facing.

We talked with Melissa Dickson, Kendrick Johnson, and Rick Wormeli about best assessment practices, and how they plan to support schools and districts as they navigate new strategies and formats for assessing student learning.

Melissa Dickson

For more than 30 years, Melissa has served the educational needs of teachers and students as a literacy coach, staff developer, and classroom teacher. She is passionate about providing educators with quick-to-implement, research-based strategies. She is the author of Differentiated Instruction—A Framework for Learning Success.

Kendrick Johnson

Kendrick is an education consultant who began his career as a high school English teacher and mentor in Chicago’s first turnaround high school. He later became a curriculum and instructional coach before transitioning into the role of Site Director for the Chicago Teacher Residency (CTR) Program, where he founded, managed, and directed two teacher training sites. Kendrick’s areas of expertise include behavior/classroom management, data-driven instruction, and culturally relevant and responsive teaching.

Rick Wormeli, NBCT

One of the first National Board Certified teachers in America, Rick brings innovation, energy, validity, and high standards to both his presentations and his instructional practice, which includes 36 years teaching math, science, English, physical education, health, and history, and coaching teachers and principals. He is the author of many popular books, including the award-winning Fair Isn’t Always Equal, 2nd Edition and Meet Me in the Middle.

Your Professional Development is Our Priority

As a reminder, SDE offers many professional learning options to meet the needs of your school or district, including virtual professional development, on-site workshops (1-3 days), flexible job-embedded coaching, and customized conferences. Our professional learning is designed with educators in mind and is rich with the content and practices to meet the needs of today’s diverse classrooms, from traditional in-person classes or remote learning environments.