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Association for Middle Level Education

AMLE Members Say…

In fall 2018, AMLE members were invited to participate in a survey about their experiences as middle school educators. In each issue of AMLE Newsletter—your bimonthly member e-newsletter—you'll find a new question with member answers and supporting resources, which were gleaned from this survey. Take a look at what your fellow educators said about important issues and key practices in their schools and classrooms.

We asked:	How do you feel about the attention paid to standardized tests at your school?
You said:	32.40%	We pay too much attention
	31.20%	It's just right
	26.35%	We pay slightly too much attention
	5.15%	We don't focus on this at all
	4.90%	We need to pay more attention
Resources:	The Relationship between Curriculum-based Measures in Oral Reading Fluency and High-Stakes Tests for Seventh Grade Students by Sawyer A. Hunley, Susan C. Davies, Christina R. Miller Efficient vs. Effective Environments: Testing the Testing Environment by Katie Houdek The Influence of Computer-Assisted Instruction on Eighth Grade Mathematics Achievement by Christopher H. Tienken, James A. Maher Helping Students Understand the Rigors of Assessment Text by Ruby Payne

We asked:	About engaging outside experts for student learning … do you:
You said:	68.99%	Hold assemblies with guest speakers
	48.37%	Host experts in person directly in the classroom
	29.40%	Students visit outside professionals
	23.32%	Hold virtual discussions (phone, Skype, live webinar) with outside experts
	18.48%	None of these
Resources:	Going Beyond School by Rachel Mark, Katy Farber No More Assemblies by Vanessa Scanfeld, Vincent Dotoli

We asked:	Which statement most closely reflects your view of focusing on growth mindset?
You said:	79.95%	I firmly believe in the importance of growth mindset and coach my students to develop this way of thinking about learning
	13.98%	It's a good way to view learning, but has limited usefulness
	6.07%	It's just the latest buzz, fad, jargon
Resources:	Grit and Growth Mindset: Deficit Thinking? by Rick Wormeli Webinar: Growth Mindset in the Middle School Classroom: Lessons for Teachers with presenters Rachel Kamb, Tammy Fisher, Kate Tovias