We all like to skip to the end. 

Too often, when clients come to me, they tell me that they want a 40-minute instructional video on XYZ or a 30-minute slide presentation with X-number slides. They’re focused on the output. But Instructional design, at its core, seeks to create effective and efficient learning experiences to achieve specific outcomes. 

To ensure that is really happening, we have to back up for a moment and look at what we’re trying to achieve with the training. One of the most critical initial phases in this process is the needs assessment. 

If you are a parent and your child is in third grade or above and participates in California’s Assessment for Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), you may have noted some changes this year in how those results are being reported to you.

In particular, you may have noticed the Lexile and Quantile report accompanies the main report.

The short answer is that I had to leave the classroom after 22 years for my health. But the long answer is just what one would expect…