MDC Introductory Guide to Formative Assessment Workshop

District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) has been widely heralded in recent years as one of the nation’s fastest-improving urban public school districts. Most coverage has focused on the district’s strong and stable leadership and its sustained focus on educator effectiveness.

Teachers know that meeting students’ individual needs in a bustling classroom is a Sisyphean task. But the job may be getting easier, thanks to a variety of new digital literacy tools. Last year Debra Rook began using Newsela, a program that uses news articles about current events to build reading comprehension, and customizes each article for five different reading levels.

Ensuring all students are prepared to succeed in college and career is at the heart of the Common Core State Standards. As teachers work hard to find ways to help all students reach these expectations, we’re working to ensure that there are high-quality instructional materials available that have been developed by teachers for teachers.