The educational leaders from Moving Everest give us succinct and impactful insights as we use interim assessments to inform instruction. Our blog captures five takeaways from the video and resources to further support our student data analysis and usage.

ANet’s guidance provides concrete, actionable advice for schools and districts on how to approach the use of assessments and data to address amplified learning loss.

Despite widespread dissatisfaction with too much testing, district leaders often feel powerless to change their situation. Fortunately, there are actions they can take. Check out this infographic to see the impact our partners made.

We are excited to release our new white paper on refining system-level assessment strategy. You’ll learn the steps of the process and understand some key insights that can help you get the most out of your assessment strategy efforts.

Some of the excellent math and ELA curricula now available include curriculum-embedded assessments. Where do these fit into your assessment strategy? Can they replace the array of assessments you use now?

A thoughtful, balanced assessment strategy is about more than just testing: it’s about creating better experiences for our teachers and students.

There are a lot of reasons school leaders turn to item banks. But several of our school partners have told us that their experience with item banks didn’t live up to their expectations.

There are a lot of assessment providers out there, and they all claim to provide high quality. But how do you really know?

Leaders at George Washington Carver STEM Elementary in Cleveland know that assessments can be as much a planning tool for teachers as they are a measure of student learning.

Formative means assessment for learning—the results help teachers plan instruction to meet their students’ current needs. Summative means assessment of learning—the results are for evaluation or accountability.

Assessment previews are like a map that shows teachers what mastering grade-level standards looks like. Watch this video to hear two instructional leaders describe why they value assessment previews.

As a school leader, you can get so focused on student learning that you overlook your own learning. But the instructional leadership team at MAS Charter School see a direct connection between leader learning and teachers’ and students’ achievement.

Almost everyone in education, especially teachers and school leaders, understands the importance of high-quality interim assessments to guide effective instruction. The problem is: How do you know which ones are best?

Most educators agree that assessments shouldn’t be a “departure from instruction” but, rather, an “integral part of it.” They’re on board with changing the conversation around assessments from student scores to what students have learned, and many agree that teachers should take the assessment. 

However, in light of the ever-increasing demands on the time of teachers and leaders, the questions become when can this work be done? And, is this work truly worth it? 

Think about some of the reasons that we assess: to measure growth, as a diagnostic, for accountability/evaluation, or to inform teachers’ instructional decisions. 

How could any one assessment do all of those things well?

In education, we’re obsessed with data. But how much of this data is really useful?

As leaders reevaluate their assessments, we believe they should be grounded in the mindset: As few as possible. As formative as possible.

We need to flip the way we think about assessments away from the idea that they are only a vehicle for data, and towards the idea that they are powerful instructional resources.

At ANet, our guiding principle regarding assessment is that it’s most valuable when it informs instruction. Massachusetts school principal Jean-Marie Kahn speaks for many: “I’m not a huge fan of standardized testing, but I can’t imagine running a school without knowing what my kids know.”

If you had told me in high school that I would one day be creating tests, I would have laughed in your face. Because, in my world, tests were things to be feared, dreaded, avoided if possible. Let’s be honest: I hated tests.

My journey from assessment-phobe to director of ELA assessments at ANet involved traumas, triumphs, and learning about the true value of assessments.