The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently awarded a $1.5 million education grant to Measured Progress, a nonprofit based in Dover, New Hampshire.
The organization will use the two-year grant to research ways to evaluate teachers effectively beyond simple standardized testing.
Many parents have become upset with the way teachers currently “teach to the test,” meaning they only focus on providing their students with the learning necessary to pass the state’s rounds of standardized testing. The grant’s intention is for Measured Progress to develop and implement systems that combine performance-based tasks, such as written reports based upon reading, with other measures of student achievement involving “real-world” experiences.
"When [students are] out in life, they aren't asked to answer multiple choice questions all the time - they're not exact tasks you'd expect someone to do, but they are related," said Stuart Kahl, Measured Progress’ CEO. "The performance measure is just a more direct measure of a task you'd expect people to do in non-test measures."
Like Measured Progress, many schools nationwide have recently received grants intended to further education. Many schools have upgraded technology as a result, incorporating smartboards, computers and HDMI projectors into their lesson plans. Also, like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, major companies, such as MetLife, Wells Fargo and Lowe’s, have awarded such grants.
