Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

In an uncertain fall, remote assessments and focus skills offer clarity

Teachers around the country have a lot of questions this fall. How will the lack of summative assessment data from last spring impact the school year? How quickly can I determine what students may have missed in the chaotic close of the 2019–2020 school year? Are remote assessments accurate? How can I parse the interim and formative assessment data of incoming students and focus on the areas that will provide the greatest return?

The answers will vary from school to school, but across the board, assessment is going to be critical in getting students back on track.

Missing and Remote Assessments: Do We Have the Data We Need?…Read More

5 tips to avoid the summer slide

Research shows that reading at least 20 minutes a day, every day, all year long, can make a world of difference for students at all levels. We know that daily reading practice helps students avoid the dreaded summer slide that can rob them of gains they’ve made during the school year.

The challenge is how to get and keep students engaged in reading over the summer months, without regular contact with teachers, school librarians, and others who provide that reading message during the school year. The solution is a summer literacy initiative that motivates students with the support of both families and community partners.

A successful summer initiative should mirror the school culture and serve as a connector between the prior school year and the upcoming school year. Well-executed summer initiatives that become part of the fabric of a school community result in an expectation that “Of course our students will continue reading over the summer months. Why wouldn’t they?”…Read More

7 ways to support summer learning–right now

The summer slide doesn’t have to be an obstacle

summer-learningSchool’s out for summer! But learning doesn’t have to stop. By now, you’re probably familiar with the term “summer slide,” and with efforts to keep students engaged in learning experiences throughout the summer break.

Seventy-six percent of teachers have said it is “extremely important” to practice skills and keep learning over the summer, and 84 percent of teachers said that students forget or “lose” grade-level equivalency, skills, and knowledge over the summer.

But 90 percent of teachers note that if kids remain involved in learning during the summer months, they’ll see more academic success.…Read More

Beat the ‘summer slide’ with free CCSS-aligned resources

Students can avoid the oft-cited summer slide and even advance proficiency

summer-slideFor the third year, Learning Upgrade is offering complimentary “Summer School” access to its web-based Common Core-aligned curriculum to all qualifying U.S. schools and districts.

Through the incorporation of songs, video, games, and extensive educational research, Learning Upgrade helps students reach and exceed grade level requirements in both math and English/language arts. The complimentary summer licenses provide users full access to all of Learning Upgrade’s K-8 courses, including the newly released Math Upgrade 6 Common Core lessons.

Learning Upgrade’s platform provides students with immediate feedback, as well as additional support and remediation when and where students need it. Once a student has demonstrated mastery of a given skill, they are automatically advanced to the next lesson.…Read More

New ed-tech services aim to stop the ‘summer slide’

This summer, students will have at least two new ed-tech services to offset summer learning loss, free of charge

summer
“Summer learning loss is the great open space of education,” said Tom Davidson, EverFi’s chief executive.

Research suggests that students lose two to three months of grade-level equivalency in math skills over the summer, which affects their readiness for the new school year—and this problem is more pronounced for students from low-income families.

This summer, students will have at least two new ed-tech services to offset summer learning loss—and both will be offered to students at no cost.

AASA, the nation’s largest association for school superintendents, has partnered with TenMarks (an Amazon company) to reverse summer learning loss through an initiative called the TenMarks Summer Math Program.…Read More