by Laura Maniglia | Sep 17, 2023 | academic standing, cognitive skills, instruction, language, learning, math, NAEP, public schools, student engagement
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has announced that the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) “will continue to examine transitions to online assessments and using devices that students are most familiar with.” The assessment will...
by Laura Maniglia | Sep 6, 2023 | active learning, attention & focus, cognitive skills, exercise, instruction, intelligence, learning, retrieval practice, student engagement, study skills, teachers
School is back in session, so now is the perfect time to review and practice active learning strategies. Simply reading or re-reading material is a passive pursuit and therefore ineffective for learning. The key components of active learning engage the learner,...
by Laura Maniglia | Aug 25, 2023 | attention & focus, brain development, Child development, cognitive skills, learning, non-cognitive skills, parents, Sleep
Previous blogs have provided information about the detrimental effects that screen time can have on children. “The National Institute of Health and the American Association of Pediatrics have issued warnings about the adverse effects of screen time, including...
by Laura Maniglia | Aug 9, 2023 | academic standing, active learning, instruction, intrinsic motivation, learning, PISA, public schools, reading, testing
Since 2000, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) administers the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) to test 15-year-old students’ reading, mathematics, and science literacy. The major domain of study rotates...
by Laura Maniglia | Jul 27, 2023 | brain development, Child development, instruction, learning, parents, public schools, reading, Sleep, student engagement, teacher effectiveness, teachers
Long before the advent of smartphones, physicians cautioned about the negative health effects of excessive television viewing. A 2005 study stated: “Weekend TV viewing in early childhood continues to influence BMI in adulthood. Interventions to influence...
by Laura Maniglia | Jul 20, 2023 | classroom management, instruction, parents, SEL, teacher effectiveness, teachers
A previous blog from 2019 presented information about a popular disciplinary system, restorative justice, an alternative to traditional methods of punishment such as suspension that “invites those in conflict to talk through the issue so they can understand the harm...
by Laura Maniglia | Jun 29, 2023 | academic standing, instruction, language, learning, math, NAEP, parents, public schools, reading, testing
Two years ago, I reported the disheartening results of NAEP, the Nation’s Report card):”Only 35% of the fourth graders test at or above the Proficient level. The math scores were only slightly better, with 41% reaching proficiency” The scores for eighth grade were...
by Laura Maniglia | May 24, 2023 | academic standing, grading system, instruction, learning, NAEP, parents, public schools, reading, students, teacher effectiveness, teachers, testing
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the Nation’s Report Card, has been the subject of previous blogs. The test is usually administered every two years, on odd numbered years, to a “sample of students who represent the student population...
by Laura Maniglia | May 11, 2023 | academic standing, Admissions, homeschooling, instruction, language, learning, math, public schools, reading
The importance of periodic testing to assess students’ progress was the subject of previous blogs. Most American colleges and universities have become “test optional,” no longer requiring standardized admissions tests (ACT and SAT). These two exams have been...
by Laura Maniglia | Apr 14, 2023 | instruction, parents, reading, student engagement, teachers, testing, writing
Previous blogs have stressed the benefits of reading and writing on paper rather than on digital devices. However, fewer studies compared the results of written tests to those of computer-based tests(CBT). In 2015 the National Institute of Health (NIH) released a...
