Giving Compass' Take:

• Education Dive explains that, when it comes to preparing students for their future, developing more rigorous classroom assessments is essential. 

• How can educators create higher, but achievable, expectations for students? What roles might nonprofits play in the effort to develop more precise measurements?

• Read more about setting the bar for student performance and test scores. 

Barbara Blackburn, author of “Rigor is Not a Four-Letter Word,” writes for District Administration that educators can take a number of steps to elevate the level of rigor in classroom assessments.

Teachers first need to assess the current level of rigor they are using in assessments, revise the tests to raise that level, and then implement the new testing strategies, Blackburn writes.

She suggests that rigor is not about making student tasks and assessments harder, but about creating high expectations for learning, supporting students as they perform at higher levels, and allowing students to demonstrate that they have learned at those levels.

Read the full article about increasing assessment rigor by Amelia Harper at Education Dive.