As the school year winds down, it’s the perfect time to pause, reflect, and refine. In this episode, Tom and Nat walk you through five powerful questions to guide an end-of-year assessment audit—no data deep dives or compliance checklists required. Just clear, practical ways to decide what assessment strategies to keep, adjust, or let go. Whether you’re packing up your classroom or planning for next year, this episode will help you carry forward what works and ditch what doesn’t.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EVENTS

• June 25-27 (Tom & Nat) ST Assessment Collaborative Institute
  • Madison, WI

• September 22-23 (Tom) Grading from the Inside Out
  • Atlanta, GA

• October 22-23 (Tom) Grading from the Inside Out
  • San Diego, CA

• December 2-3, 2025 (Tom) Standards-Based Learning in Action
  • San Diego, CA

NEW BOOK FROM TOM & NAT

• Rehumanizing Assessment

Unleash YES

• Unleash YES Instagram

CONNECT WITH TOM & NATALIE

• Podcast on X
• Tom on X
• Natalie on X
• Podcast on IG
• Tom on IG
• Natalie on IG
• Email: assessthat24@gmail.com

In this episode, Tom and Nat continue the discussion about their new book, "Rehumanizing Assessment: Gathering Evidence of Student Learning through Storytelling." This episode takes a deeper dive into how, through various story structures, students can tell the story of WHAT they're learning and HOW they're learning.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EVENTS

• June 25-27 (Tom & Nat) ST Assessment Collaborative Institute
  • Madison, WI

• September 22-23 (Tom) Grading from the Inside Out
  • Atlanta, GA

• October 22-23 (Tom) Grading from the Inside Out
  • San Diego, CA

• December 2-3, 2025 (Tom) Standards-Based Learning in Action
  • San Diego, CA

NEW BOOK FROM TOM & NAT

• Rehumanizing Assessment

Unleash YES

• Unleash YES Instagram

CONNECT WITH TOM & NATALIE

• Podcast on X
• Tom on X
• Natalie on X
• Podcast on IG
• Tom on IG
• Natalie on IG
• Email: assessthat24@gmail.com

In this episode, Tom and Nat introduce listeners to their new book, "Rehumanizing Assessment: Gathering Evidence of Student Learning through Storytelling." While subsequent episodes will focus on specific aspects and strategies, this episode is an overview of why they wrote the book and who the target audience is.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EVENTS

• June 25-27 (Tom & Nat) ST Assessment Collaborative Institute
  • Madison, WI

• September 22-23 (Tom) Grading from the Inside Out
  • Atlanta, GA

• October 22-23 (Tom) Grading from the Inside Out
  • San Diego, CA

• December 2-3, 2025 (Tom) Standards-Based Learning in Action
  • San Diego, CA

NEW BOOK FROM TOM & NAT

• Rehumanizing Assessment

Unleash YES

• Unleash YES Instagram

CONNECT WITH TOM & NATALIE

• Podcast on X
• Tom on X
• Natalie on X
• Podcast on IG
• Tom on IG
• Natalie on IG
• Email: assessthat24@gmail.com

In this episode, Tom and Nat explore the intersection between assessment and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Specifically, they highlight five important connections:

1. UDL means designing assessments from the start with flexibility in mind.
2. Assessment must reflect the UDL principles of engagement, representation, and expression.
3. Formative assessment is essential—it guides flexible, responsive design.
4. Clear learning goals allow you to separate the what from the how.
5. Self-assessment and reflection develop agency and expert learners.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EVENTS

• June 25-27 (Tom & Nat) ST Assessment Collaborative Institute
  • Madison, WI

• September 22-23 (Tom) Grading from the Inside Out
  • Atlanta, GA

• October 22-23 (Tom) Grading from the Inside Out
  • San Diego, CA

• December 2-3, 2025 (Tom) Standards-Based Learning in Action
  • San Diego, CA

NEW BOOK FROM TOM & NAT

• Rehumanizing Assessment

CONNECT WITH TOM & NATALIE

• Podcast on X
• Tom on X
• Natalie on X
• Podcast on IG
• Tom on IG
• Natalie on IG
• Email: assessthat24@gmail.com

In this episode, Tom and Nat play the game "Would You Rather," exploring five assessment dilemmas that teachers and schools often face:

Would You Rather:

#1: Allow students to redo assessments right up to report card deadlines, or cut off revisions two weeks early to protect your feedback quality and mental health?

#2: Suppress a student’s grade when evidence is insufficient, or assign a best-estimate level using professional judgment to avoid blank spaces on reports?

#3: Use a single holistic score to reflect overall proficiency on a standard, or break it down into multiple component scores for clarity — even if it overwhelms families?

#4: Prioritize the accuracy of the final report card by using only summative tasks, or include some formative data to recognize effort and encourage student morale?

#5: Give more weight to recent evidence to honor growth, or consider the full body of work to avoid inflated grades from last-minute surges?

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EVENTS

• June 25-27 (Tom & Nat) ST Assessment Collaborative Institute
  • Madison, WI

RECENT BOOKS:

• "Redefining Student Accountability"
• "Concise Answers to FAQs about Assessment & Grading"
• "Jackpot: Nurturing Student Investment through Assessment"

CONNECT WITH TOM & NATALIE

• Podcast on X
• Tom on X
• Natalie on X
• Podcast on IG
• Tom on IG
• Natalie on IG
• Email: assessthat24@gmail.com

Tom and Nat explore some important reminders about how to ensure that the assessment of both Project- and Inquiry-Based Learning are meaningful, cognitively complex, and substantive. Just "doing" PBL or Inquiry is not enough. The promise of these approaches to learning is deeper learning so our assessment practices need to reach that promise.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EVENTS

• MAR. 24-25 (Tom) SBLA 2-Day
  • New Orleans, LA

• APR. 5-6 (Tom & Nat) NESA Learning Futures Summit
  • Athens, Greece

• June 25-27 (Tom & Nat) ST Assessment Collaborative Institue
  • Madison, WI

RECENT BOOKS:

• "Redefining Student Accountability"
• "Concise Answers to FAQs about Assessment & Grading"
• "Jackpot: Nurturing Student Investment through Assessment"

CONNECT WITH TOM & NATALIE

• Podcast on X
• Tom on X
• Natalie on X
• Podcast on IG
• Tom on IG
• Natalie on IG
• Email: assessthat24@gmail.com

In this Tom Schimmer Podcast classic, Tom is joined by Gholdy Muhammad to discuss her book, "Cultivating Genius, an Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy."

• Gholdy on X: @GholdyM
• Gholdy on Instagram: @gholdym

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EVENTS

• MAR. 5-6 (Tom) GFIO 2-Day Workshop
  • San Antonio, TX

• MAR. 24-25 (Tom) SBLA 2-Day
  • New Orleans, LA

• APR. 5-6 (Tom & Nat) NESA Learning Futures Summit
  • Athens, Greece

• June 25-27 (Tom & Nat) ST Assessment Collaborative Institue
  • Madison, WI

NEW BOOK

• Rehumanizing Assessment through Story

CONNECT WITH TOM & NATALIE

• Podcast on X
• Tom on X
• Natalie on X
• Podcast on IG
• Tom on IG
• Natalie on IG
• Email: assessthat24@gmail.com

In this episode, Tom and Nat share a three-year checklist for implementing standards-based grading. Of course, every checklist must be checked" against the culture and nuances of each specific situation. but generally, this checklist will provide a road map that can at least initiate the journey; you can adjust from there

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EVENTS

• FEB 19 (Tom) PLC Summit KEYNOTE
  • Phoenix, AZ

• MAR. 5-6 (Tom) GFIO 2-Day Workshop
  • San Antonio, TX

• MAR. 24-25 (Tom) SBLA 2-Day
  • New Orleans, LA

• APR. 5-6 (Tom & Nat) NESA Learning Futures Summit
  • Athens, Greece

• June 25-27 (Tom & Nat) ST Assessment Collaborative Institue
  • Madison, WI

RECENT BOOKS:

• "Redefining Student Accountability"
• "Concise Answers to FAQs about Assessment & Grading"
• "Jackpot: Nurturing Student Investment through Assessment"

CONNECT WITH TOM & NATALIE

• Podcast on X
• Tom on X
• Natalie on X
• Podcast on IG
• Tom on IG
• Natalie on IG
• Email: assessthat24@gmail.com