Why Classroom Assessments Matter More Than You Think – with David Woodward

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.​Key takeaways:Why classroom assessments—unit tests, quizzes, performance tasks, and student work samples—provide the richest data for improving instruction.​How to use tools like the Universal Screeners for Number Sense to identify number sense gaps and target supports without overtesting.​Common pitfalls in benchmark and adaptive testing, and how districts can bring teacher-scored evidence back to the center of data conversations.What it takes to build a healthier assessment culture that values timely, actionable information over volume of tests.​Connect with David Woodward and Forefront Education:Forefront Education – classroom assessment data platform founded by today’s guest, David Woodward: https://forefront.education​Book: Universal Screeners for Number Sense and related resources: https://forefront.education/resources/universal-screeners-for-number-sense​Schedule a Forefront demo: https://forefront.education/contact/​LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwoodward​This episode features a founder discussing their own product; inclusion is for informational purposes and is not a paid promotion.