In a previous BI Tool post, I highlighted some of the data visualizations that can be automated—and how they can save educators countless hours of time. I asked this question: If you can build a report that saves people time, is there any better outcome? I thought I’d expand on that idea a bit. Really, … Continue reading 4 Data Visualizations that Remove Barriers Between Data and Action
Monroe County is a thriving community in the heart of central Georgia, close to Atlanta and Macon. Monroe County Schools (MCS) is dedicated to creating a brighter future for county residents, by focusing on the following strategic objectives: Attain high student achievement and success Develop organizational effectiveness Ensure student/stakeholder engagement and loyalty Ensure high quality … Continue reading Why EOC Scores are Soaring in Monroe County Schools
Happy spring, fellow educators! As the days warm and the school year enters its final stretch, we encourage you to take some deep breaths and begin to set intentions around how you’d like to wrap this school year up for yourself and your students. We were moved by this article, Teachers’ Mental Health Linked to … Continue reading Get Ready for Summer with Some Mindful Reflection
This month, we highlight just a few of the many fantastic BI Tool reports that have been created by Dina Lefeld, the Assessment and Data Coordinator at Bellbrook Sugarcreek Schools in Greene County, Ohio. Our last post focused on how Illuminate’s BI Tool can be used to automate data work and give educators back some … Continue reading BI Tool: Course Recommendation Reports
Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have popularized over the years due to their emphasis on collaboration, their focus on using data to drive conversation and action, and their ability to discover insights that improve both instruction and student learning outcomes. While PLCs have a lot of value to offer, districts often encounter a number of logistical … Continue reading Improving PLC Meetings with Process & Data
We are kicking off our new Customer Spotlight blog series to highlight some of our amazing customers. In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we are starting with a teacher, Hannah Goeglein, from Southern California. It’s teachers like Hannah that inspire us to bring teachable moments to light! Hannah Goeglein Role Teacher School Leonardo da Vinci … Continue reading Illuminator Spotlight: Hannah Goeglein
Whether we are using a quick informal assessment or developing a district-wide summative test, the design of an assessment directly impacts how valuable or usable its results are. Think of building a house. The design and build of the house directly impacts how usable it is when we’re done. The order in which we proceed … Continue reading 6 Steps to Quality Assessment Design
This article was co-written with Anne Kel-Artinian From formative exit tickets to end-of-year exams, there are a lot of challenges in writing assessments. The assessment content, or the “items,” must meet a lot of criteria. When using commercial assessments and vetted item banks, the validity and reliability of the items is assured by the vendor. … Continue reading Are Our Common Assessments Fair?
First of all, I want to send a big thank you to everyone who attended IO Education EXPO EAST 2019 in New York City last week! I’ve personally attended IO Education EXPO for years–both as a lead customer success manager and senior instructional developer. It’s an invaluable opportunity to connect with our customers, and I … Continue reading Thoughts from IO Education EXPO EAST 2019: “Past, Present & Future”
This article was co-written with David Stevens, Berkeley Unified School District Imagine you went to see your doctor about a cold and she recommended a particular treatment. You, in turn, ask the doctor why she thinks it is the right option. In one scenario she replies: “I’ve heard it works, and it is also what … Continue reading Lessons from John Hattie: Unlocking the Power of Classroom Discussion