These last few days have definitely felt like fall. The trees are starting to show their beautiful colors. Like school, we take time to review our "data" in order to make decisions about our next steps. We watch the weather, we look outside, and for those that have temperature gauges you take notice in order to help determine what clothes to wear, or in my case, what shoes to wear.
We all hear of teachers spending time doing "assessments" and it is important to know that the information gives us something more than just how any one student is doing. It gives us information as to how we are collectively doing, and more importantly, it gives us our next steps.
If we all view assessments as the temperature gauge, we know that it is not final; the weather could warm up later in the day or it could cool down (we do live in Michigan, after all). There are variables that can change that weather pattern and sometimes we dress too warmly or not warmly enough but nonetheless, we decide on what to do.
As we are about to take the NWEA test toward the end of this month, encourage your child to sleep well and have a good breakfast. Perhaps a healthy snack to bring to school. This assessment is like the temperature gauge and should not be a high stress situation.
I hope that you all enjoy the Michigan fall weather this weekend! Don't forget to dress for the weather if you spend time outside :)
