Drawing upon school and district experiences, our book identifies common barriers and provides strategies to prevent, contain, and overcome the “fires” that can derail grading reform efforts. Sample chapter 👉 resources.firsteducation-us.com/extinguishin... 📕 firsteducation-us.com/extinguishin...

Every time a new group of kids comes I put exactly one of these plastic trinkets in there. It’s an experiment to see if a kid will grab a piece of candy or the trinket. #Halloween

📢 Our 3rd annual conference is designed for administrators, teacher leaders, and building/district leadership teams who are getting started with or taking their next step with grading reform. Save the date!

What if grading reformers and their critics both want the same thing? www.edweek.org/teaching-lea...

New Post: Free In-Person Class: Why FI? Financial Literacy for the Rest of Us and a Path to Financial Independence fischfinancial.org/2025/09/12/f...

Are you ready to align your grading practices with your values? Join us December 17–18 for the Alternative Grading Institute (online), which will bring together faculty from across higher education for a two-day, hands-on experience in standards-based, specifications, and collaborative grading.

Agree, Dr K

Michigan educators! Registration is now open: Grading (or not grading) to support student learning. Join me in this interactive webinar on April 7, 2026. t.co/ktXIbyrlvm

Carson Beck for Heisman?

Me: "How was your day at school?" Neighborhood kid: "Good. The only thing I don't like is phonics"

Yes sir.

#PE teachers: Like you, I’m teaching #PhysEd & know the challenges esp a lack of relevant PD. Want field-tested & impactful ideas on #assessment #grading & #motivation in #PhysicalEducation delivered straight to ur inbox? Subscribe to my newsletter:l tinyurl.com/msznuhre

Sadly, the research team mentioned in this @edweek.org article does not appropriately characterize equitable grading. For example, prohibiting zeros and unlimited retakes are *not* equitable grading pillars, per Feldman's website (crescendoedgroup.org/frequently-a...) bsky.app/profile/edwe...

Year 8, back at it

In our 2021 study, the majority of HS students’ (61.5%) final grades were inflated when homework and employability points were included in the grade compared to grades based solely upon students’ performance on summative assessments. 🔗 www.ojed.org/JSARD/articl...

Featured in AASA School Administrator's *Best of 2024-25* summer issue: "Dousing the 🔥s of Grading Reform" 🔗 www.pageturnpro.com/AASA/112547-...

When educators are not able to connect initiatives and programs, grading reform may be perceived as "one more thing". Instead, integrate: SBG & PLC 👉 solutiontree.com/making-grade... SBG & SEL 👉 sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Debunking Myths of Standards-Based Grading: Addressing the concerns and providing some strategies for implementing alternative grading practices in science classrooms. www.nsta.org/science-teac...

Educators from around the state of Iowa (and beyond) gearing up for two years of graduate coursework and internship experiences. Principal prep program cohort orientation today! #UNIEdLead

Hot take:
 Allowing retakes isn’t “soft” - it’s scientific.
Mastery takes time. Reassessment isn’t a second chance.
It’s a better snapshot of learning. #AlternativeGrading #RethinkTheGrade #EduSky

Dismantling myths about professional judgment and subjectivity in assessment begins with a deeper understanding of the true purpose of classroom assessment. kappanonline.org/busting-myth...

NEW: Navigating (another) reading crisis as an administrator: Rethinking the “science of reading” movement (JSARD) radicalscholarship.com/2025/05/28/n...

Another Iowa educational leader, one step closer to the doctoral degree finish line today with a successful proposal defense! #UNIEdLead

Based on real school experiences, our book highlights common barriers to grading reform and offers practical strategies to prevent, contain, and overcome the 🔥 that can derail the process. 🔗 www.firsteducation-us.com/extinguishin...

Discover a clear road map for implementing a standards-based grading system at the secondary level. On sale right now for $29.99 + free Prime shipping. a.co/d/6sAHOyf

Day in the Office role play for our aspiring school leaders was a success! #UNIEdLead

"Joost Vander Pieplenwinkel" and other actors will be participating in tomorrow's #UNIEdLead Day in the Office (DITO XVIII) role play activity for aspiring school leaders. Photos to come!

Kicking off day two of #UNIEdLead summer seminar on-campus with de-escalation techniques (yes, prepping for Day in the Office tomorrow!). #AspiringPrincipals #1UNI

Day one of #UNIEdLead summer seminar was a success on Tuesday! Topics included Iowa school finance 101 and school administrator wellness.

Gratifying when a former student (and current school leader) reaches out to say “look what came in the mail today…your book” Sure the peer-reviewed empirical stuff is needed, but seeing authored resources in the hands of practitioners is the impact I value the most.

Ready for the 2nd annual leadership-focused standards-based grading conference in Cedar Falls, IA! #UNISBGConf25

Wrapped up the day at Northern Cass in North Dakota. 200+ educators excited to personalize learning for their students!

Many believe Standards-Based Grading (SBG) is meant to boost achievement. SBG isn't about raising achievement—it's about accurately verifying it. Use grades to reflect true proficiency, not as motivational tools or rewards for obedience. #EduSky #EduSkyChat #assessment #education

New Book: Financial Literacy for the Rest of Us fischfinancial.org/2025/06/03/n... It’s about 200 pages and works really well (in my opinion, of course), as a basic primer for financial literacy.

NEW: Navigating (another) reading crisis as an administrator: Rethinking the “science of reading” movement (JSARD) radicalscholarship.com/2025/05/28/n...

📢 Grading reformers and their critics all want the same thing! In light of recent national media headlines focused on K-12 classroom grading, this may be worth a (re-)read: 🔗 www.edweek.org/teaching-lea...

Attention school leaders in the midwest (and beyond?!) 2nd Annual Standards-Based Grading Conference 🗓️ June 16, 2025 📍 Cedar Falls, IA Sign-up your leadership team. 👇 Details and registration --> buff.ly/cMgsHUw #UNISBGconf25

I'll be speaking at Northern Cass Personalized Learning Institute '25 on Jun 11 - 12, 2025. I would love to see you there! Register here: whova.com/portal/regis... #NCPLI25 #NCPLI

I am excited to share the Spring 2025 issue of the Journal of School Administration Leadership and Development is now available online. Four open access articles address topics of preschool organizational climate, instructional rigor, workplace spirituality, and the Science of Reading movement. 🧵

ICYMI: New piece, candid and practical, hopefully useful: "When Our Grading Philosophies Conflict With Those of Our Faculty," Principal Leadership from NASSP, May 2025 www.nassp.org/publication/...

"The reason we at Barry-Wehmiller want our #leaders to care about our people is because they are someone’s precious child... They are not roles to fill or functions that serve to do what we want..." Read more from Bob Chapman in this blog post: www.barrywehmiller.com/post/blog/20...

Yesterday, wrapped up a year of supporting the grading leadership team at North Fayette Valley (IA). This team has a long history of standards-based grading implementation and yet wanted to get better. And yes, NFV will be workshopping at the 2025 #UNISBGConf ! coe.uni.edu/epfls/about-...

We are right at one month away from the 2025 Grading Conference (June 11--13), and have just posted the schedule. Check out all the amazing presentations we will have this year! www.centerforgradingreform.org/grading-conf...

We hope that you will join us for our 2025 Teacher Leader Summit in Denver. June 5 = instructional redesign for deeper learning. June 6 = folding artificial intelligence into the mix. dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2025/05/join... #edcolo #edtech #k12 #edchat #AIinEDU #deeperlearning

Nice day on campus. @northern-iowa.bsky.social

Burnham Square across the board.

Watching the 2022 race in preparation for tonight's Kentucky Derby. youtube.com/watch?v=wIYD... "Rich Strike is coming up on the inside, oh my goodness!"

As we enter graduation season, if you are looking for an inexpensive - but still meaningful - gift for your high school or college grad, you might consider www.amazon.com/gp/product/B... ($8 paperback, $4 Kindle). It's short and accessible and could make a big different in your young person's life.

Just wrapped up Zooming into a teacher prep class at Central College. Shared big ideas of standards-based grading and answered questions. These future teachers are excited to grade for the purpose of communicating learning!

Attention school leaders in the midwest (and beyond?!) 2nd Annual Standards-Based Grading Conference 🗓️ June 16, 2025 📍 Cedar Falls, IA Sign-up your leadership team. 👇 Details and registration --> buff.ly/cMgsHUw #UNISBGconf25