Web Exclusive Publications

We are pleased to share the following documents—accessible only on the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) website.

Formative and Summative Assessment in the Classroom
Catherine Garrison & Michael Ehringhaus
Assessment provides a viable source of information about student learning. In a balanced assessment system both summative and formative assessment are integral parts of information gathering. This article defines summative and formative assessment and gives examples of classroom practices for each.

Connecting Learning to Real Life
Barry Guillot
Service-learning connects learning objectives to the students' lives. They never ask, "Why do we have to learn this?" because the reasons are obvious—to protect our economy, our wildlife, and our future.

Middle Schools Addressing Student Transition Issues
This article highlights two middle schools and a technology platform that focus on successful student transitions.

Helpful Hints
Looking for some practical advice to give to parents about the transition from elementary to middle school? This informative tip sheet is great to use in newsletters or for teams to hand out at back-to-school night.

Assessing and Reporting Progress Through Student-Led Portfolio Conferences
Carol Smith
Reporting progress through student-led portfolio conferences is a natural next step for teachers and teams to take in their continued efforts to integrate learning and to honor and reflect student voice in the learning process.

Organizing the Middle School Curriculum
James A. Beane
This paper provides definitions for various approaches to organizing the curriculum, beginning with the separate subject approach, and connects them with the larger field of curriculum design. It also includes a discussion of sources of themes and issues associated with implementing curriculum designs beyond the separate subject one.

How Might Middle School Students Be Involved in Classroom Curriculum Planning?
Many educators support the idea that young adolescents should and can be involved in classroom curriculum planning. Such involvement could include helping to determine curricular goals, content, methodology, activities, materials, and means of assessment—all of which are components of a curriculum and are included in curriculum planning. This paper begins to explore ways that young adolescents might become involved in classroom curriculum planning.

Teachers As Inquirers: Strategies for Learning With and About Young Adolescents
Chris Stevenson
This 1986 monograph, no longer available in print, is even more appropriate now than it was then.