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How Does Technology Supercharge the Formative Process?

Illuminate Education October 21, 2022 Assessments, BI Tool, Data, Educational Technology

norm referenced assessment

What Are Norm-Referenced Assessments and Why Do We Use Them?

John Bielinski, Ph.D. August 18, 2022 Assessments, Data, Instruction, Professional Learning

Identify Historical Trends

The Importance of Identifying Historical Trends in Student Data

Rachel Brown, Ph.D., NCSP July 28, 2022 Assessments, Data

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Strategies for Engaging Families with End of Year Data

Illuminate Education June 16, 2022 Data, Parent Engagement

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Developing a Plan to Support Struggling Readers

Jenny Reid March 3, 2022 Assessments, Data, Dyslexia, Instruction, Professional Learning

An image of Wahoo Public Schools

Achieving MTSS Success with the Right Data and the Right Tools

Christi Thomas February 24, 2022 Assessments, Case Study, Data, Illuminator Spotlight, MTSS, School Improvement

A Facilitator's Guide to Leading Data Conversations About Equity

A Facilitator’s Guide to Leading Data Conversations About Equity

Jaime Harris, Ed.S., NCSP & Kristin Rockwell, M.A. Ed. February 8, 2022 Data, Equity, Leadership, Resources, School Improvement

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Literacy Data 101

Jenny Reid January 28, 2022 Data, Dyslexia, Instruction, Professional Learning

Students collaborate in a classroom that is monitoring students’ growth and measuring effectiveness of SEB instruction and interventions.

Is What We’re Doing Working? Measuring Effectiveness of SEB Instruction and Interventions

Stephen Kilgus, Ph.D. January 13, 2022 Assessments, Data, MTSS, Progress Monitoring, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Students engaging in the formative assessment process in the classroom

Formative Assessment: What Is It and Why Use It

Rachel Brown, Ph.D., NCSP December 9, 2021 Assessments, Data, Instruction

Student's learning and development cultivated by SEL competencies

SEL Competencies: What They Are, Why They Matter, and How to Develop Them with Students

Nathaniel von der Embse, Ph.D., NCSP December 2, 2021 Assessments, Data, Instruction, Professional Learning

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What is Item Analysis?

Dr. Ekaterina Forrester November 18, 2021 Assessments, Data, Instruction, Professional Learning

Educator uses behavior intervention plan to support students

Creating an Effective Behavior Intervention Plan: Tips & Free Templates

Kristin Rockwell, M.A. Ed. November 2, 2021 Data, MTSS, Resources, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Navigating HB 4545 to set up students for success

Texas HB 4545 FAQ: What It Means and How to Position Your District for Success

Tiffany Rudolph, M.Ed. October 28, 2021 Assessments, Data, Educational Technology, Policy & Funding

Teacher using depth of knowledge to better understand students

Understanding Depth of Knowledge

Ashley Klint October 21, 2021 Assessments, Data

teacher focused on target behavior for positive student impacts

Using Data to Align a Behavior Intervention to a Target Behavior

Kristin Rockwell, M.A. Ed. October 14, 2021 Assessments, Data, MTSS, Resources, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

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Evaluating Your Overall Intervention Program’s Effectiveness

Jaime Harris, Ed.S., NCSP October 7, 2021 Data, MTSS, Professional Learning

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Tying Assessment & Instruction Together

Jeremy O'Neil September 16, 2021 Assessments, Data, Instruction, Professional Learning

Student engaged in hybrid learning

Essential Supports for Hybrid Learning

Mike Oswalt, M.Ed September 9, 2021 Assessments, Data, Leadership, Remote Learning

educators watching free webinars on assessment and implementing MTSS

Free Webinars for Educators: MTSS, Assessment, SEB and More

Jessica Rowley September 2, 2021 Assessments, Data, Equity, Instruction, MTSS, Professional Learning, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Illuminate Summer 2021 Release

Illuminate Summer 2021 Release: Driving Data-Informed Decisions to Efficiently Address Unfinished Learning

Bonny Troyer August 19, 2021 Data, Illuminate Announcements, Resources

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Should Students with Disabilities Participate in MTSS?

Rachel Brown, Ph.D., NCSP August 12, 2021 Assessments, Data, Instruction, MTSS, Professional Learning, Special Education

Students doing a science experiment as part of Shelby County Schools Gifted Program

How Shelby County Schools is Increasing Equity in its Gifted Program

Krista Delk July 15, 2021 Assessments, Case Study, Data, Equity, Illuminator Spotlight, Uncategorized

mental health

Supporting Mental Health in Schools: The Value of Dual Perspectives

Nathaniel von der Embse, Ph.D., NCSP June 17, 2021 Assessments, Data, Implementation, Mental Health, School Improvement, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), Uncategorized

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Why are Tiered Supports Helpful for All Students?

Rachel Brown, Ph.D., NCSP June 10, 2021 Data, MTSS, Professional Learning

Westside Community Schools

Westside Community Schools is Improving Intervention and Core Instruction with Assessment Data & PLCs

Krista Delk June 3, 2021 Assessments, Case Study, Data, Illuminator Spotlight, MTSS, PLC, Uncategorized

Early Warning Dashboard

Leveraging an Early Warning System within a Data-Driven MTSS

Franck Reyherme May 27, 2021 Assessments, Data, Early Warning, Illuminator Spotlight, MTSS

diagnostic assessment

Diagnostic Assessment & the Importance of Alignment

Jaime Harris, Ed.S., NCSP May 20, 2021 Assessments, Data, MTSS

An educator leads instruction guided by student data

Student Data: How Using Data Can Help Your Students Succeed

Jessica Rowley May 13, 2021 Assessments, Data, Dyslexia

Using End of Year Assessment Data to Accelerate Growth

3 Steps for Using End of Year Assessment Data to Accelerate Growth

Ashley Klint May 10, 2021 Assessments, Data, PLC

An educator examines social-emotional behavior screening data to plan student supports

Using Social-Emotional Behavior Screening Data to Plan Interventions at the Individual, Class, and School Levels

Stephen Kilgus, Ph.D. April 30, 2021 Assessments, Data, Implementation, MTSS, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

A group of students at Warsaw Community Schools

How Warsaw Changed Its Culture with Data & Assessment

Krista Delk April 22, 2021 Assessments, Case Study, Data, Illuminator Spotlight

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What Are Decision Rules?

Jaime Harris, Ed.S., NCSP April 8, 2021 Data, MTSS, Professional Learning

High school kids raise hands, teacher sitting at their desk

Using Data Visualizations to Help Identify and Address Disproportionality in Schools

Adam Palmese, Ed.S. March 18, 2021 Assessments, Data, Educational Technology, Instruction, Professional Learning

Asking Better Questions with Data

Jenn Belda March 11, 2021 Assessments, Data, PLC

Anonymous-Students-000014592402_Full - Copy

How to Create Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) & School Climate Dashboards to Support Student Growth

Kristin Rockwell, M.A. Ed. March 5, 2021 Data, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

A group of students sit at their desks

Policy to Practice: How to Ensure Short-Term Relief Funding Yields a Long-Term Impact on Student Growth

Dr. Amy Jackson March 3, 2021 Assessments, Data, Educational Technology, MTSS, Policy & Funding

How (and Why) to Complete a Midyear Check on Equity & Growth

Jaime Harris, Ed.S., NCSP February 24, 2021 Assessments, Data, Equity, MTSS

A student reads a book in the library

What is Disproportionality and Exclusionary Discipline?

Claire Smizer February 4, 2021 Data, Educational Technology, Equity, Leadership, MTSS, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Tips for Writing Image

Tips for Writing Items for Quality Data: Lessons Learned from Reviewing Hundreds of Items

Dena White January 28, 2021 Assessments, Data, Educational Technology

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Busting 2 Common Neuromyths about Learning

Dr. Amy Jackson January 21, 2021 Data, Instruction, Professional Learning

Student practices reading at home

Literacy as a Social Justice Issue

Kim Gibbons, Ph.D. January 15, 2021 Assessments, Data, Equity, Instruction, Resources

A student works at home

Assessing and Equitably Accelerating: The Power of a Comprehensive and Balanced Assessment System

Dr. Amy Jackson January 8, 2021 Assessments, Data, Equity, Uncategorized, White Paper

Student practices reading skills which have been supported by instruction grounded in the science of reading

Close Learning Gaps by Applying the Science of Reading

Martin Yan December 15, 2020 Assessments, Data, Dyslexia, Equity, Resources

A woman analyzes winter universal screening data for her students

How to Use Winter Screening Data

Rachel Brown, Ph.D., NCSP December 8, 2020 Assessments, Data, MTSS, School Improvement

A brief released today by Illuminate Education reveals substantial math losses in grades 5-8 and modest reading losses across grades K-8 as a result of COVID-19 disruptions.

New Data Indicate Substantial Math & Modest Reading Learning Losses due to COVID-19

Martin Yan November 13, 2020 Assessments, Data, Educational Technology, Instruction, White Paper

Diagnostic Assessment as a Tool for Identifying Learner Needs

Rachel Brown, Ph.D., NCSP November 12, 2020 Assessments, Data, Special Education

A group of students work together

An Equity-Based Approach to Supporting SEB Functioning

Jaime Harris, Ed.S., NCSP October 15, 2020 Data, Equity, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

A summative assessment bubble sheet

Policy to Practice: The State of State Assessments

Dr. Amy Jackson October 8, 2020 Assessments, Data, Equity, Policy & Funding, State Reporting

A group of happy kindergarteners sit together

4 Steps for Leading Data Conversations About Equity

Kristin Rockwell, M.A. Ed. September 30, 2020 Data, Educational Technology, Equity, Leadership, Professional Learning, School Improvement

A PLC meets to share instructional strategies and support students throughout the year.

What is a PLC? A Definition and Resource Roundup

Martin Yan September 25, 2020 Data, PLC

A graphic showing the types of assessment within a Comprehensive Assessment System

Understanding Different Types of Assessments

Ashley Klint September 10, 2020 Assessments, Data, MTSS

Infographic to describe what MTSS is and how it can support students and educators in the coming year

6 Reasons to Lean Into MTSS This Year

Kate Pechacek August 27, 2020 Assessments, Data, MTSS, Remote Learning

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Understanding & Improving the Universal Tier

Sarah Brown, Ph.D. August 20, 2020 Assessments, Data, MTSS, Professional Learning, School Improvement

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What is Data Based Decision Making?

Rachel Brown, Ph.D., NCSP August 14, 2020 Data, Professional Learning

An Opportunity for Equity: How to Use Assessments and Data the Right Way When Schools Reopen

Dr. Amy Jackson August 13, 2020 Assessments, Data, Equity, Leadership, Remote Learning, School Improvement

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How Can Leaders Help Teams Increase Their Assessment Literacy?

Jeremy O'Neil July 30, 2020 Assessments, Data, Leadership, PLC, Professional Learning

How to Create Strong Data Culture in Your Building: Tips from a Former Principal

Jeff Ion July 28, 2020 Assessments, Data, Educational Technology, Leadership, PLC, Professional Learning, School Improvement

The Power of Assessment to Close Gaps & Help Students Soar

April Beasley July 2, 2020 Assessments, Case Study, Data, Illuminator Spotlight, Leadership

Seeing the “Whole Child” Data Picture

Lynn Ehlers June 17, 2020 Data, MTSS

Using the 4 Load-Bearing Walls of Equity-Based MTSS to Plan for Next Year

Martin Yan June 12, 2020 Data, Leadership, MTSS, Remote Learning

Using Qualitative Data to Support Students During the School Closures

Martin Yan May 18, 2020 Data, Remote Learning

Using Data to Support Remote Learners with IEPs

Kristin Rockwell, M.A. Ed. April 24, 2020 Assessments, Data, Remote Learning

6 Free Professional Development Kits for Educators

Kristin Rockwell, M.A. Ed. April 1, 2020 Data, PLC, Professional Learning, Remote Learning, Resources

Use the Data You Have Today to Group Students, Align Remote Resources & Plan for the Future

Kristin Rockwell, M.A. Ed. March 25, 2020 Data, Educational Technology, Remote Learning

Analyzing Your Assessment Data: Patterns of Need & Root Cause Analysis

Dr. Melissa Hogan February 27, 2020 Assessments, Data, Instruction

Supporting Advanced Learning Within a Multi-Tiered System of Supports

Maria A. Martin February 20, 2020 Data, MTSS

Creating and Taking Action on a Data-Driven Strategic Plan

Valerie Coffey February 13, 2020 Data, Illuminator Spotlight, Leadership, MTSS, School Improvement

Leveraging High-Quality Custom Interims to Move the Needle on Student Outcomes

Sara Shore January 30, 2020 Assessments, Case Study, Data, Leadership

A student demonstrates interest in artwork, an element of whole child data that is made useful with whole child data literacy.

How to Grow Data Literacy for Whole Child Data

Brian Green January 24, 2020 Data, Leadership, MTSS, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

A diagram unpacks the question "What is MTSS" into five general components

What is MTSS? How to Explain MTSS to Almost Anyone

Jaime Harris, Ed.S., NCSP January 16, 2020 Data, Leadership, MTSS

Creating a Culture of Data: Keys to Making the Shift and Making it Stick

Dr. Amy Jackson January 9, 2020 Data, Leadership

Illuminator Spotlight: Jonalee Castillo

Mark Adato December 6, 2019 Data, Illuminator Spotlight, Instruction

Setting Goals That Matter for Students With Dyslexia

Rachel Brown, Ph.D., NCSP November 14, 2019 Assessments, Data, Dyslexia, School Improvement

10 Persistent Progress Monitoring Myths Debunked

Rachel Brown, Ph.D., NCSP October 31, 2019 Assessments, Data, MTSS

Maximizing Tier 2 & Tier 3 Data: Progress Monitoring, Intervention Fidelity, and Intervention Effectiveness

Jaime Harris, Ed.S., NCSP October 17, 2019 Data, MTSS

How to Use Quality Assessment Content to Build Assessment and Data Literacy

Jeremy O'Neil October 11, 2019 Assessments, Data, Educational Technology, Instruction, PLC, Resources, School Improvement

Turning Tier 1 Universal Data into Action

Jaime Harris, Ed.S., NCSP September 26, 2019 Data, MTSS

MTSS Tiers & MTSS Interventions 101

Kate Pechacek September 13, 2019 Assessments, Data, Implementation, MTSS

Two women look at their data platform to review data related to their MTSS implementation.

How I Made MTSS Work in My District

Jaime Harris, Ed.S., NCSP September 5, 2019 Data, MTSS

Teacher engages in an intervention to meet the needs of his students

What’s the ROI on RtI?

Art Godin, Ed.S. August 22, 2019 Data, Leadership, MTSS, School Improvement

PLCs: Leveraging Collaboration to Move Student Achievement

Natalie Howell July 25, 2019 Data, Leadership, PLC, School Improvement

What it Really Means to Be a Data-Driven District–and How to Make it Happen

Dr. Amy Jackson July 11, 2019 Data, Leadership, School Improvement

Making the Shift: Basing Teaching and Learning in Data

Crystal Steinmetz June 27, 2019 Data, Educational Technology, Illuminator Spotlight, Leadership

Leveraging Social-Emotional Learning: Insights from Tustin Unified’s Journey from Data Collection to Action

Allison McCarty Ku June 21, 2019 Data, Illuminator Spotlight, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

4 Data Visualizations that Remove Barriers Between Data and Action

Franck Reyherme June 13, 2019 Data, Educational Technology, School Improvement

A group of educators know how to run an effective plc meeting

How to Run An Effective PLC Meeting

Michael Harris May 16, 2019 Data, PLC, School Improvement

Lessons from John Hattie: Unlocking the Power of Classroom Discussion

Debra Russell April 11, 2019 Data, Instruction

Data Visualization & Action Plans: Filling Gaps in Seeing the “Big Picture”

Jaime Harris, Ed.S., NCSP March 21, 2019 Data, Educational Technology, School Improvement

The Case for Assessment Literacy: Why It’s Critical for All of Us

Chris Balow, Ph.D. January 31, 2019 Assessments, Data, Leadership

4 Types of Filters to Help You Find Patterns in Your Data

Jaime Harris, Ed.S., NCSP January 24, 2019 Data

From Data Dolt to Superhero: Leveraging Micro-Data Trends for Personalization

Leilani Cauthen September 13, 2018 Data, Leadership, Personalized Learning

What’s So Great About Data Driven Instruction?

Mark Adato August 15, 2018 Data, Instruction, Whiteboard Series

School Data Dashboard Showing Safe and Supportive School KPI Dashboard

Does Your District Need a School Data Dashboard?

Chris Balow, Ph.D. June 7, 2018 Data, School Improvement

How IDEA Public Schools is Getting Data into the Right Hands

Martin Yan May 24, 2018 Case Study, Data, Leadership

Can State Reporting for Schools be Easy?

Rebecca Coleman May 23, 2018 Data, State Reporting, Uncategorized, Whiteboard Series

Will Machine Learning Change the Path of K-12 Education?

Dr. Abram Jimenez May 17, 2018 Data, Educational Technology, Machine Learning

Writing a Continuous Standards-Story for Students

Kate Pechacek April 26, 2018 Assessments, Data, Leadership, School Improvement

Breaking Down Silos to Turn Data into Action

Dr. Abram Jimenez April 5, 2018 Data, Leadership, School Improvement

4 Easy Ways to Check Your District’s Student Data

Rebecca Coleman March 14, 2018 Data, School Improvement, Whiteboard Series

7 Methods for Measuring Student Growth

Chris Balow, Ph.D. December 14, 2017 Assessments, Data

Identifying the Problem of Percentile Ranks

Chris Balow, Ph.D. August 10, 2017 Assessments, Data, Resources, School Improvement

6 Practical Safeguards to Protect Student Data

Mike Oswalt, M.Ed August 3, 2017 Data, Educational Technology, Leadership

Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders (AAPI): The Need for Data Disaggregation

Stacy Mauro July 6, 2017 Data, Equity, Resources

Developing a Student Achievement System? Here’s How.

Doug Wells June 22, 2017 Assessments, Data, Educational Technology, Implementation, Leadership, Resources, School Improvement

The “Effect Size” in Educational Research: What is it & How to Use it?

Chris Balow, Ph.D. June 15, 2017 Assessments, Data, Resources

Six Steps for School Leaders to Use Data Effectively

Chris Balow, Ph.D. June 8, 2017 Data, Leadership, Resources, School Improvement

Setting Up a Data-Driven Culture

Mark Adato May 25, 2017 Assessments, Data, Leadership, Resources, School Improvement

How Statesboro High Increased Math Proficiency by 84 Percent

Martin Yan May 11, 2017 Case Study, Data, Leadership, School Improvement

5 Critical Steps to Doing Formative Assessments

Chris Balow, Ph.D. March 2, 2017 Assessments, Data, Resources, School Improvement

How a Low-Achieving School Uses Data to Drive Success

Dr. Abram Jimenez February 2, 2017 Assessments, Case Study, Data, Equity, Leadership, School Improvement, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Getting Back to the Basics [Infographic]

Martin Yan November 29, 2016 Data, Resources

Six Student Data Privacy Practices for Success

Mike Oswalt, M.Ed November 14, 2016 Data, Illuminate Announcements, Resources

5 Fall Tasks to Improve Scheduling Success in Spring

James Fleming November 10, 2016 Assessments, Data, Resources

Start Gathering Social & Emotional Data Now—Here’s How

Chris Balow, Ph.D. October 27, 2016 Assessments, Data, Resources, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Missing Millions: The Impact of Chronic Absenteeism on Ethnic Minorities

Dr. Abram Jimenez September 22, 2016 Data, Early Warning, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Teaching Social Emotional Learning Skills Can Reduce the Achievement Gap

Chris Balow, Ph.D. August 25, 2016 Data, Resources, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Questioning Your Way into a New School Year

Valerie Coffey August 18, 2016 Data, Resources, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

7 Can’t Miss Blogs to Jumpstart the School Year

Mike Oswalt, M.Ed August 11, 2016 Assessments, Case Study, Data, Educational Technology, Resources, Social-Emotional Behavior (SEB)/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Why Should Educators Use Data?

Katie Sellstrom July 28, 2016 Data, Educational Technology, Implementation

Gatekeeping in Math: Dispelling the Myth of Placement & Advancement Exams

Debra Russell July 21, 2016 Assessments, Case Study, Data

Take Action: 3 Steps Educators Can Take to Prevent Bullying

Chris Balow, Ph.D. May 25, 2016 Data, Resources

Illuminator Spotlight: Ramaa Ravi

Chad O'Neal May 11, 2016 Data, Illuminator Spotlight

5 Steps to Building an At-Risk Student Model

Chris Balow, Ph.D. April 26, 2016 Data, Early Warning, Educational Technology

Need for Better Assessment Emphasized in 2016 National Education Technology Plan

Mike Oswalt, M.Ed April 19, 2016 Assessments, Data, Educational Technology

The Importance of a Growth Mindset in Turnaround Teachers

Dr. Gail L. Thompson April 10, 2016 Data, Educational Technology, Resources

Switching Student Information Systems: Does It Have to Hurt So Much? Five Components for a Successful Implementation

Mark Walls April 4, 2016 Case Study, Data, Educational Technology, Implementation, Resources

TEDx Talk by Jenny Rankin: Why Data Should Be Over-The-Counter

Illuminate Education February 26, 2016 Data

student

Student Early Warning Systems: An Introduction and Best Practices

Chris Balow, Ph.D. February 16, 2016 Assessments, Data, Early Warning, Educational Technology