We’ve heard many Florida educators express frustration over the fact that the new Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) in ELA and math does not provide benchmark data at the individual student level. The FAST reports are divided into groups of related Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.), called reporting categories. These categories provide strengths […]
Walking into many elementary and middle school libraries today, it is not uncommon to see books organized by letters, a sequence of numbers, or a color code. Teachers encourage students to “choose a book at their level!” and in theory, this is a good thing — you are more likely to repeat an activity if […]
Every year, it feels like testing season sneaks up on us. We’re diligent in providing strong educational opportunities for students, using interventions, making data-driven decisions, trying to make learning fun, and then all of a sudden — high-stakes testing is upon us. Many of us find ourselves reiterating test-taking strategies to students, using acronyms to help them remember strategies and formulas, and plying them with candy to get them to sit through drills. Some schools even pause educational content for more intensive test prep.
For an instructional leader—whether it be an elementary school principal or a high school instructional coach—assessments are non-negotiable. This is for good reason, too, considering that assessments directly inform us about whether students are achieving academic goals. Even when we understand the importance of assessing students, it can still prove challenging to fit crucial assessments […]
Over the past few decades, our country has been contending with enduring educational challenges, with reading and math growth staying largely stagnant since the early 2000s. You may be wondering why when teachers are working hard and students are still showing up and putting in the work. TNTP’s 2018 study, “The Opportunity Myth,” shows that […]
Adaptive Testing – What Is It and How Is It Used? Adaptive testing is not new for educators in the K-12 space, but it seems to be emerging everywhere lately. So what is it, and how can it affect your students and teaching? Computer adaptive testing, or CAT, selects test questions based on the test […]
What is House Bill (HB) 1605? HB 1605, passed by the Texas Legislature in May 2023, is an important bill that affects education in Texas. It aims to provide teachers with grade-level, department-vetted resources and instructional materials aligned to state standards. Instructional materials include scope and sequences, textbooks, lessons, and aligned curriculum-based assessments, among other […]
Have you noticed more empty desks in your classroom lately? You’re not alone. Schools across the country have been dealing with rising rates of absenteeism ever since the Covid-19 pandemic started. According to state data, during the 2022-2023 year, nearly 10% of K-12 students were completely absent and 25% were chronically absent, meaning they missed […]
As the new school year kicks off, Louisiana educators are gearing up for a brand-new set of standards: the 2022 Louisiana Student Standards for Social Studies, or LSSSS. At Progress Learning, we’re committed to staying ahead of these changes, and we’re thrilled to announce that these new standards are now fully integrated into our platform. […]