NEASC2024

What would it look like if you replaced tests and letter grades with projects, portfolios and public exhibitions? What if students moved on to the next level, not based on age or time, but when they demonstrated proficiency on essential skills? Performance-based promotion is the fundamental premise of Parker Charter, a public charter school in Massachusetts with 29 years of experience of using portfolios and public exhibitions to assess student readiness to move to the next level of study. This session details how the teachers and students of Parker Charter design and complete projects, share feedback, make revisions and progress through the program. The highlight of the session will be small group discussions with Parker students who will share their academic portfolios, showcasing their growth over time. The students will reflect on the process of learning and what they learned about themselves through hard work, reflection and revision.