Chapter 12, “Thinking Through Assessment” presents an issue that I consider at length in my senior thesis. I am writing about using school-community partnerships to aid struggling schools. A large portion of my research revolves around the efforts of a high school in a nearby school district to restructure in order to increase their accountability rating under No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. Unlike many schools that have failed to meet annual yearly progress standards, this school has embraced innovative learning strategies. Rather than implementing test preparation courses and extra study courses for students who failed previous state exams, teachers, administrators and teaching artists from a local nonprofit have collaborated to open up two Smaller Learning Communities (SLCs). Each SLC follows a student-centered, project-based learning approach that allows students to conduct their own projects while still adhering to state standards.
One of the teachers’ big issues had been trying to balance students’ needs with school and state needs. For example, one teacher mentioned to me that her students had not done well on a recent global history test, despite the fact that she could see them growing individually. Her students displayed more creativity, maturity, and better social skills than they had in the past, which she attributed to the small class sizes, individualized projects, and group work. The low test scores, however, were a big problem. Author David Pearson alludes to this when he points out that different “clients” have different expectations of assessments. School and state administrators want to see academic progress, and are not as impressed by enhanced social and personal skills.
While there is no easy strategy to go about this weird balancing act, there are certain ways that teachers can remain mindful to the needs of different players in the system. In response to the drop in test scores, for example the teacher in my case study had collaborated with two other fellow teachers to address potential problems with their curricula. Throughout the entire year, it seems that this process of group reflection and teacher collaboration has helped the teachers maintain an innovative, project-based curricula while still preparing students for success on state exams.

In “Unleashing Potential with Emerging Technologies,” Sara Kajder recounts her experience of creating a reader’s guide wikibook with her 11th grade English students. Upon realizing that the book The Stranger had an infamous reputation among her students, Sara decided to challenge her class to create their own guide to understanding the book. As a class, they compiled and posted pictures, charts, summaries, explanatory notes, and character lists alongside an online copy of the book. Not only did the 11th graders enjoy the fast-paced yet casual nature of wikibook, but they were also very motivated by the knowledge that others outside of their class were frequently viewing their work. Kajder noticed a remarkable upsurge in participation and online activity after she told her class about an English class is Seattle that was using the site to aid their own reading of The Stranger. “Within three days,” she writes, “content was explodingon the site. Students had added videos that offered enactments of scenes. Some were podcasting their literature group discussions. Others were linking to every bit of relevant content that they could find.” (223) Students were motivated by the knowledge that other people were following and appreciating their work. This seemed to give the project added value, as if the wikibook was a community service rather than a regular class project. I think this observation speaks to the effects of responsibility. When students realize that their work is helping others, it suddenly becomes more important. They invest time and energy into their work in order to make the project as legitimate as possible. Online technology is an easy and effective way for teachers to provide an audience for students. Perhaps giving students an audience that depends upon and benefits from the students’ work is one strategy for instigating motivation in classroom activities and projects.