Tom Schimmer is an independent education author, speaker, and consultant from Vancouver, BC. For the first 20 years of his career he was a classroom teacher, school administrator, and district level leader. For the past 10 years, Tom has worked as an internationally recognized leader and expert in the areas of assessment, grading, RTI, and educational leadership. He is the author & co-author of six books and is the host of his own podcast aptly called The Tom Schimmer Podcast.

 

In this episode Tom Schimmer gives us the rundown on how to be reliable assessors of our students’ skills. He gives us tools for thinking about standards and achievement and opens our eyes to the vast benefits of using rubrics and four-point scales. You’ll be a better assessor by the end of this episode!

 

Timestamps - 

Who is Tom Schimmer? [2:08]

Curriculum and Standards [4:28]

What should a report card represent? [6:14]

Setting teachers up for grading success [7:40]

Tom’s guidelines for determining students’ achievement towards learning goals  [9:43]

Questions to ask ourselves during the summative moment [11:44]

Standards don’t mean standardization [18:39]

The desirable goal of public education standards [21:43]

Tom respects the work of online educators [24:23]

Homework and accountability [26:25]

Tom’s mantra for us all [27:39]

How CPS relates to punitive grading [30:30]

Who was Tom Schimmer’s favorite teacher as a kid? [33:36]

 

Resources - 

A Guide to Summative Moments

Tom’s Recent Books

Tom Schimmer Podcast

Tom’s Solution Tree Site

Collaborative Problem Solving - Dr. Ross Greene