Assessment & Feedback

Speakers: Jill Gough and Marsha Harris, Trinity School

As we continue to learn how to best support our learners with a focus on The Science of Reading, school leaders are looking for ways to select, administer, collect, and visualize data so that decisions can be made around intervention and enrichment opportunities for children. High-quality assessment practices in all schools continually evolve, while research and technology are at the forefront.

Join this session to learn how a 3-year-old through 6th-grade school selects, collaborates, and analyzes literacy assessments to support student learning and differentiated planning. At Trinity, evidence-based data now complements classroom performance, family history, and teacher intuition. In this session, we will explore various tools to visualize classroom formative assessment data, discuss differentiation strategies to support all learners in the classroom, and create a plan to support classroom teachers through the data process.

Speaker: Mike Kentz, Zainetek Educational Advisors

Language-based assessments are under assault by AI. Teachers can no longer rely on written assessments like essays, lab reports, even PowerPoint presentations to evaluate student proficiency and skill. Teachers need to stop grading the product and start grading the process of student learning. That means allowing use of AI but, importantly, assessing and evaluating the student interaction with AI across a variety of thinking tasks, skills, and objectives. This approach is the future of education. It allows educators to teach effective and responsible use of AI, but it also creates a window into student thinking that can be evaluated for content understanding and communication skills.

Speaker: Dr. Kelly Swanson, Mount Paran Christian School

Are you ready to tackle one of the most debated topics in education head on? Assessment is more than just grades – it’s the key to unlocking student potential!

Join us for a dynamic, hands-on session where we’ll uncover the mysteries to designing assessments that are reliable, valid, fair, and secure. You’ll walk away with practical tools to empower your teachers and create assessments that truly measure what matters. After all, education has suffered enough from weak assessments – let’s change that starting NOW. Get ready to lead the way in transforming how we measure student success!

Speakers: Danette Morton, John Monahan, and Tori Sparks, The Westminster Schools

In a time of intense polarization, schools are tasked with teaching students to live together in community and preparing them to enter civic life. Discover how Westminster Upper School’s Civil Dialogue Fellows program is empowering students with the skills for respectful, productive discourse, fostering hope for a brighter future.