Academic Status Reports (ASRs) are submitted by an instructor to indicate that a student is succeeding in the course or, more commonly, that the instructor is concerned about their progress or participation in the course (e.g., not attending class or not submitting assignments). ASR notifications are sent to students and may also be shared with…

Although author and teacher Penny Kittle has shifted from working with high school students to college freshman, she notes in this piece that they are not that different. They still show up the first day of class as "nonbelievers" needing to be "nudged" toward the love for books that she forges through her sensitive context…

Luhmann's theory allows for a reflection on teaching as interaction system. According to Luhmann, the interaction system of teaching accomplishes the function of the education system, i.e. transforming psychic systems in persons. The education system fixes the social structures of teaching, i.e. conveyance and evaluation of knowledge. However, the…

In this edition of Assessment News, Charles Darr uses a case study from the National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement (NMSSA) to highlight how students can benefit from activating deliberate thinking in assessments. The key message underscores the value of using assessment information to generate insights that inform better teaching and…

This article examines the intricate interplay of educational enthusiasm, conformity, and resistance amongst Korean students during the Japanese colonial period (1920-1945). It explores how Japan's governance shift in the 1920s, which extended schooling years and introduced co-education, elicited mixed responses from Korean students, ranging from…

The growing interest in classroom discourse reflects a wide recognition within the mathematics education community of the critical role of social interactions in the joint construction of mathematics knowledge. An extensive body of empirical and theoretical work has been undertaken in the last two decades to characterise the types of classroom…

In "The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure," Lukianoff and Haidt contend that an atmosphere of "safetyism" threatens the university's ability to serve as an arena for free speech and academic freedom. In this paper, we examine their thinking through one…

Assigning grades is conventionally the exclusive, lonely terrain of the instructor, even as other aspects of responding to student writing are collaborative. As an alternative that promotes student engagement and agency, labor-based contract grading is used in a growing number of writing classrooms. This article describes an alternative:…

In this narrative article, I document my implementation of action logs as a tool for reflective practice and teacher development as I transitioned from working in a small "eikaiwa" (English conversation) school to working in a private international university. After providing a brief description of my contextual background and how I came…

Alternative approaches to assessment in education (many of which are linked to inclusive and antiracist pedagogies) are gaining in popularity across the board, from PK--12 to higher education (Esquivel, 2021; St. Amour, 2020). One such antiracist assessment strategy is using labor-based grading contracts (LBGCs), popularized by Inoue (2019; see…

Trigger warnings have become a hotly contested practice in higher education, including within the field of social work. Learning to become a social worker can be a demanding process that requires in-depth study about often socially taboo and traumatic topics. The learning process can, understandably, cause discomfort that may result in a…

Do students respond to sticker prices or actual prices when applying to college? These costs differ for students eligible for financial aid. Students who do not understand this may not apply to some colleges because of the perceived high cost. We test for this form of "sticker shock" using College Board data on SAT scores sent, as a…