A major goal of middle-school education is to make students responsible for their own learning. Adolescents must be active participants in setting academic goals for themselves, deciding how to accomplish these goals, and assessing their achievements. At the same time, students at this level require support and encouragement from their teachers at each step along the way. The National Middle School Association, in its list of essential practices for middle schools, sums it up this way: "Immediate feedback and reassurance are necessities for individuals who are developmentally so diverse. Students need to have an active role in assessing their learning as well as opportunities to succeed."
Lara Sargent -- an eighth-grade science teacher in Sanford, Maine, and a recent winner of the Sallie Mae First Class Teacher Award -- has developed an assessment model that allows students to take responsibility for their learning in a teacher-supported context. This web site is designed to provide information about the model and to allow teachers to try it out in their classrooms. Use the navigational links at left to learn more.
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