Episode 061: Riding a Unicycle on the Edge of a Cliff

For today’s check-in question, Matt asks us what random things we have on our desks or shelves that tell something about us. You might be surprised by what we share…or maybe not! As we are looking towards the end of another academic year, the main topic today is around summative assessment. Dave recently shared a professional development workshop for a local school about the topic, and we spend some time thinking about the purposes and practices of summative assessment. Dave shares his definition for summative assessment, and then we argue a bit about the different ways summative assessment is used (and abused) in schools today…and how our thinking about summative assessment has shifted over time. The difference between “assessment” and “judgment,” just how high-stakes assessment should be, and ideas for alternatives to traditional cumulative exams…lots of ideas we bat around in this conversation!