James Aycock has supported students with disabilities in schools for close to two decades. It truly is his calling and boy am I thankful he is in that space. He shares with listeners the hard truth about tests but doesn't leave us discouraged. He teaches us about the different types of assessments out there and how they are (or should) be used. He offers advice for parents on what to do when they suspect their student is struggling or needs more of a challenge, and the answer is not, "ambush the teacher during carpool."

LINKS:

• James wrote a piece for SCORE titled, "Teacher Voice: In Defense of Standardized Testing." (https://tnscore.org/perspectives-and-press/perspectives/teacher-voice-in-defense-of-standardized-testing)

• Book recommendations from James:
  • Rasing Kids Who Read: What Parents & Teachers Can Do by Daniel T. Willingham
  • (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/22263945-raising-kids-who-read)
  • 10 to 25: The Science of Moticating Young People by David Yeager, PhD (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203746293-10-to-25?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=Mjutcgk1DZ&rank=2)
  • Also, if you want to have a steady flow of non-fiction, then he recommends The Next Big Idea Club* (https://nextbigideaclub.com/) where you can get 2 books per quarter to increase your knowledge…a skill he advises every school take with students starting as early as elementary school. *Right now they are offering 20% off for new members with code NBIC20

• James Aycock (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesaycock/

• CheckBox Pro (https://www.checkboxpro.com/) - learn more about the services CheckBox Pro offers to make the work of school leaders more sustainable

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