Editor’s note: Originally published several years ago and updated in 2026 to reflect current thinking. Performance assessment is not a passing fad. It is an essential part of a complete… Read More »

My son recently came home with a multiplication and division practice booklet. He was excited to show me that he knew all his basic facts to 100. Wanting to engage… Read More »

Effective assessment occurs when summative grades focus purely on a student’s mastery of curricular outcomes, without being clouded by extraneous factors. To achieve this, teachers must act as discerning investigators… Read More »

It’s a common refrain: ‘The real world doesn’t give second chances.’ But is that really true? When people say ‘the real world,’ they often mean the adult professional environment, but… Read More »

During the learning of new concepts or skills, it is essential that students have enough dedicated time to practice and act upon feedback before reaching a summative milestone. When navigating… Read More »

Assessment shapes how students see themselves as learners and how families interpret school success. Yet, a significant gap persists between evidence-based practice and public perception. Many Albertans still view assessment… Read More »

Students today are often trained to be grade-focused rather than learning-focused. This quote from Myron Dueck continues to resonate with me when I think about Alberta’s children and their earliest… Read More »

If your district hasn’t fully adopted outcomes-based grading, it’s important to examine how school- or division-wide gradebook settings may unintentionally distort the picture of student learning. While weighted categories can… Read More »