Is This Really How We Should Test Reading Development in Kids?

August 8, 2014

Connecticut has passed legislation that includes new requirements for diagnostic screening tools for reading in kindergarten through the third grade. Word on the street is that the new requirements align well with one assessment in particular: DIBELS, or Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, an early literacy assessment used in over 15,000 schools nationwide, including many in Connecticut. Why is this a problem?








First-Grade Teacher Uses Neag School’s Learning Technology Program to Earn 6th Year Diploma, Excite Her Classroom

August 5, 2014

Students in Mary Almeida’s first-grade class at Hazardville Memorial School in Enfield use iPads to practice spelling, create digital stories, submit subtraction quizzes and follow QR code-driven scavenger hunts. They also locate and use live texts and, through an app called ClassDojo, Almeida provides parents with real-time updates on their child’s behavior. While some may […]


Meeting Common Core Standards for Math

August 5, 2014

For three days this summer, math teachers from three Connecticut school districts have worked with UConn faculty members and graduate students to develop skills and resources to enable them to meet new teaching and assessment standards and improve their students’ learning in math.