Eagle Rock to Host Council for Aid to Education Training March 14

Early next month, we’ll be opening the doors of our on-campus Professional Development Center for a daylong Council for Aid to Education (CAE) training on Performance-Based Assessments. For a few years now, we’ve been closely associated with the works of this nationwide, non-profit council, which is committed to helping education institutions measure and improve learning outcomes by offering innovative assessments and developing custom tests.

In particular, here at Eagle Rock, we use CAE’s College and Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA+) alongside more than 300 other schools throughout the country and internationally. The CWRA+ assesses higher-order thinking and written communications skills for students from all walks of life — from the most privileged to the most disengaged.

So, it’s no wonder we were eager to help out when CAE asked us to host the March 14 training from 8:30am-5pm, which is entitled, Performance-Based Assessment Workshop.

The training offers participants the opportunity to gain insight into the process of creating performance tasks (learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, and proficiency). So far, CAE has held more than 100 faculty development workshops, serving more than 2,000 educators and more than 275 schools. In particular, the Performance-Based Assessment Workshop offers an interactive, collaborative environment that enables participants use their own content and curriculum to create performance assessments.

Specifically, the daylong session* here at Eagle Rock will focus on:

• 8:30am – 8:40am: Introductions, Participant Goals, and Event Overview
• 8:40am – 10:10am: Gain a Better Understanding of How CLA/CWRA Performance Tasks are Built
• 10:10am – 11:10am: Learn How Member Schools and Institutions are Linking Quantitative Data with Qualitative Classroom Work
• 11:10am – 12:10pm: Demonstrate School Mission/Vision/Values by Aligning Assessment Practices with Learning Routines
• 12:10pm – 12:30pm: Wrap Up and Next Steps

(*The above agenda will be repeated from 12:30pm – 5pm.)

Like Eagle Rock, the Council for Aid to Education believes that incorporating performance tasks into the classroom engages students and develops their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. If that sounds like something your classroom or school could benefit from, please use the link below — preferably before March 1— to register for the March 14 training here at Eagle Rock.

Registration is being handled by CAE. For more information, visit the CWRA+ for High School & Middle Schools Training for Faculty page online, or call Ashley Brailsford in the CAE’s office in New York at (212) 217-0850.