Episode 51 - Assessing Holistically w/Carissa McCray

Grow Beyond Grades

Carissa McCray is a member of Research, Advocacy, Collaboration, and Empowerment Mentoring program, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the American Educational Research Association. She has presented across the United States on topics ranging from implementing social-emotional strategies in the classroom to culturally responsive teaching techniques through the lens of critical race theory. Her ongoing scholarship and practitioner-based work are driven by creating equitable learning opportunities through the inclusion of multicultural literature, media, and curricula.

Topics include:

• How an equitable, inclusive, culturally competent classroom is a departure from the status quo

• Why an equitable, inclusive education is important in our global society

• What role assessment plays in fostering an equitable learning environment

• How we can use data to better serve our students

• Why the “story” told by standardized testing data misses the mark

• How deemphasizing grades can align with the goals of equitable instruction

• Why we should assess students holistically, realizing that “everything is assessment”

Resources

• Everything is Assessment⁠ (TG2 blog post)

• ⁠Equitable Instruction, Empowered Students: A Teacher’s Guide to Inclusive and Culturally Competent Classrooms⁠ (book by Dr. Carissa McCray)

• ⁠Mirrors and windows: Using the five senses and more to plan culturally responsive instruction⁠ (interview for the Yes and Know podcast)

• ⁠Five things we need to stop saying about our students⁠ (interview for the Leading Equity podcast)

• ⁠Multicultural Literature as Critical Literature: Redefine the Trajectory for Students of Color⁠ (chapter in the anthology Research Anthology on Racial Equity, Identity, and Privilege)