(continued from page 18 - Why We’re Living in a Footnote of History) step last spring, well before any analysis of COVID-19 learning loss, was to make available an instructional planning tool that would help educators deal with any eventuality. When our Focus Skills Resource Center went online in June, educators across the country were able to instantly see a detailed listing of the most essential skills for progression in reading and mathematics, based on their state’s standards of learning. Purposefully targeting these essential building blocks of understanding during instruction goes a long way toward mitigating the academic challenges presented by the COVID-19 disruptions. But it doesn’t end there. In many senses, 2021 will be “The Year of Interim Assessment.” This makes sense, given the urgency in gauging and addressing learning loss. Formative classroom assessments can provide a great deal of guidance, but some of the questions we have will clearly require information that only normed tests can provide. We don’t have time to wait for our summative systems to go back online in the spring. Normed scores related to performance and growth can be provided by the best interim tools right now, so we can understand where our students are today—and how best to move learning forward. Barnum, M. (2020). How much learning have students lost due to COVID? Projections are coming in, but it’s still hard to say. Retrieved from: https://www.chalkbeat. org/2020/10/6/21504195/covid-schoolslearning-loss-projections-nwea-credo Arizona State Math Focus Skills Workbook Arizona State Literacy Focus Skills Workbook “Stronger Together!” Page 20
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