Seeking RESULTS

Mike Schmoker has written several books for educators about achieving RESULTS. The original arrived a few years ago and was simply called Results. He followed that up with Results Now and later the Results Fieldbook: Practical Strategies from Dramatically Improved Schools. We are beginning to include some of Schmoker's ideas in our school improvement plan.

I attended the Michigan Association of State and Federal Program Specialists Fall Institute in Acme, Michigan, early this week. I was able to watch the author of another great book, Building Engaged Schools: Getting the Most Out of America's Classrooms. Gary Gordon is the author. It's an excellent book.

After watching him speak, and thinking of the links between the many educational improvement books, I jotted down some ideas. These are in rough draft form and are basically what I wrote:

Q — If we developed a Results Notebook for all children, can we include a year–end project to showcase student learning? I'm thinking of authentic assessment rather than a test — one year of learning. (How do you MEASURE STUDENT PROGRESS?) It could be built on year by year.

RESULTS FOR ALL