Overview
On April 23, AYPF held the first in a series of three forums that were designed to discuss the new strategies for instruction and assessment, given the needs of the knowledge economy, the demand for more adults with postsecondary education credentials and degrees, and rapidly changing technologies. Loretta Goodwin, Senior Director at the American Youth Policy Forum, provided an overview of the need for new strategies and skill development for students. Ann Cook, Co-Director of the New York Performance Standards Consortium, then addressed the instructional strategies used in Consortium schools, where students complete in-depth, research intensive projects to demonstrate their competencies and mastery of skills. Arleen Thelemaque, a student at Urban Academy, a Consortium school, provided insights into her experience at a school that is instructing and assessing in new and innovative ways – ways that have prepared her well for her entrance into college.
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Ann Cook is co-founder and co-director of Urban Academy High School and co-chair of the New York Performance Standards Consortium, a coalition of New York State Schools that has developed and implemented a performance-based system of assessment used by forty schools in lieu of high stakes testing.
She has taught at Sarah Lawrence, Brooklyn and Queens Colleges and is one of the founders of the School-based Teacher Education Program, an innovative program leading to state teacher certification. Ann has written numerous articles on educational reform, schools and teaching and is the author of three series of children’s books. She is the parent of three children who graduated from New York City public schools.
Arleen Thelemaque – How Urban Academy has Prepared me For College Success
Ann Cook – Inquiry Based Instruction and Civic Engagement
Want to hear more? Video clips are now available on AYPF’s YouTube channel!
FORUM RESOURCES
- Forum Fact Sheet
- What Does Performance Assessment Look Like?
- Grading Rubric for Literature Classes – NYPSC
- Grading Rubric for Science Classes – NYPSC
- Knowledge and Skills for University Success (KSUS) Standards
