NWEA

"If district leaders want to see consistently positive outcomes, they need to offer summer programs with sufficient instructional time. Research suggests those programs should be greater than three weeks, with at least three hours of instruction per day." The research team at NWEA recently dug into studies on effective summer programs. Here are the key takeaways they found for education leaders: http://spr.ly/6003cbO3Z

"Assessments need to be given with enthusiasm and fidelity, and the results—all that data—studied and incorporated in the same way. This is all part of building your data identity as a leader." Tatiana Ciccarelli M.S. Ed., senior professional learning consultant at NWEA, shares tips to help educators strengthen their data identity and nurture their growth as leaders.

New NWEA research out today from Megan Kuhfeld and me taking stock of the state of academic recovery at the end of the 2023-24 school year. Unfortunately, the news is not good. Growth during 2023-24 fell short of pre-pandemic trends in nearly all grades, continuing the trend of stalled progress from the previous year. We had optimistically concluded that the worst was behind us at the end of the 2021-22 school year, but data from the last two school years no longer support this conclusion. Given that schools are facing the sunsetting of ESSER funding this fall, it's time to ask ourselves: Are we willing to accept this new status quo marked by persistent achievement gaps and widened inequalities? If the answer is no, it's crucial to find ways to incorporate recovery efforts into standard practice moving forward so that all students receive what they need to reach their full potential.

Educators face a significant challenge in returning students to pre-pandemic achievement levels in math and reading, according to a new NWEA study. Testing data shows that the average student will need about 4.8 additional months of reading and 4.3 months of math to catch up. Here are the key findings from the report: http://spr.ly/6001c3ExS

"By considering data, learner context, and content, teachers can develop responsive planning that takes students' individual strengths, interests, and social preferences into account." Tatiana Ciccarelli M.S. Ed., senior professional learning consultant at NWEA, shares strategies for using assessment data to differentiate instruction and meet each student where they are: http://spr.ly/6002iCcTK

As an educator, what's your preferred professional learning format? 🧐

Asking students to write about what they read encourages them to engage deeply with the texts, helping them better understand what they are reading and develop connections to it. Here's how pairing reading and writing instruction can benefit students’ literacy development.

For teachers who are interested in supporting formative assessment, we've compiled a list of 27 strategies that are simple to administer and free or inexpensive to use. Each strategy provides teachers with the evidence of student learning needed to make lesson plan adjustments and keep learning on target and moving forward. Find the full list here: http://spr.ly/6009imNFP

PL can be...fun? 🤯 We met with hundreds of inspiring educators at #NWEAFusion this year. Here's why a few of them think you should attend.

Allowing students to direct their own learning helps push the group toward achieving shared academic goals, mastering the standards, and accomplishing successful outcomes they can all be proud of. Here are some practical ways to promote autonomy and self-directed learning in the classroom: