This article discusses the use of self-assessment to chart the course of students' learning. Rather than experiencing school as a journey on an unknown sea to an unknown destination, it is possible for students to use formative self-assessment as a navigational chart and compass--to know where they are going, how they are going to get there, and…

Middle level students are making the transition from "learning to read" to "reading to learn." They are discovering how to apply the foundational reading skills they were taught in elementary school to text and content that is longer and more conceptually complex, and that incorporates more advanced terminology. This is no small task for students…