In this episode of the Innovating Education Podcast, Dr. Riley Williams talks with David Woodward—founder and president of Forefront Education and lead author of Universal Screeners for Number Sense—about why classroom assessments are the most powerful lever schools have to improve learning. Drawing on his work with districts nationwide, David explains how to realign instruction, grading, and assessment around teacher-scored tasks rather than interim tests and state exams.​

The discussion examines systemic misalignment in current assessment systems, the limits of adaptive testing, and why formative assessment is a practice, not a product. David offers practical guidance on using classroom evidence to guide PLC work, protect teacher time, and shift district data culture from compliance to meaningful decision-making.​

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