Moving from Theory to Action within Assessment and Grading Reform
Laminated Guide
Moving from Theory to Action within Assessment and Grading Reform
Laminated Guide
Garth Larson (Author) and Becky Peppler (Author)
Once schools have established a need for change within assessment and grading, the key question is how to take that theory and make it happen in schools. After reading many books on assessment and grading reform and what schools can do to ensure CALM grading, this guide takes four key concepts, explains the theory for the change and then provides practical ways to make those changes come to life in every school and district.
About the Authors
Garth Larson, Ed.D is the Co-Founder and President of FIRST Educational Resources. Garth has previously worked as the Director of Learning for the Winneconne Community School District in northeast Wisconsin, was an elementary principal in two separate buildings and started his career in education as a high school speech and English teacher. In 2011, Garth formed Wisconsin Educational Resources (now FIRST) with a focus on improving student achievement across the United States. Since 2011, over 1500 school districts throughout the globe have become partnership districts with his company. Garth currently consults to school districts around the world and provides customized professional development around a variety of topics, mainly Professional Learning Communities 2.0, Learning-Centered Grading Practices, Leadership and School Improvement and Response to Intervention. Garth is also the co-author of PLC 2.0: Collaborating for Observable Impact in Today’s Schools with co-author Cale Birk, Collaborative Systems of Support: Learning for ALL with co-authors Tom Hierck and Chris Weber, Target-Based Grading in Collaborative Teams: 13 Steps to Moving Beyond Standards with co-author Tom Hierck, Grading for Impact: Raising Student Achievement through a Target-Based Assessment and Learning System and Target-Based Grading in Collaborative Teams.
Becky Peppler is the Director of the FIRST Education Center for Assessment and Grading (a division of FIRST Educational Resources). She has 15 years of professional experience in public education, working in the Winneconne Community School District in northeast Wisconsin. Becky has spent time as a 6-12 Instructional Coach with a focus on supporting teachers in the classroom on a daily basis. Prior to her role as an instructional coach, Becky taught Chemistry and Forensic Science and was the 6-12 Science Curriculum Chair. She is a member of the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers (WSST), where she was awarded the Excellence in Science Education Award for the state of Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Science Education Leadership Association (WSELA). Becky has helped the Winneconne Community School District transition to Target Based Grading at the middle and high school levels. She has a passion for designing meaningful assessments practices, making reassessment work, target based learning implementation, building social and emotional skills and ensuring that all students continue to learn at high levels. Becky currently consults to school districts all over the United States in these areas.
