When students clearly understand learning expectations, they do a better job applying feedback and assessing their own performance, writes Michael McDowell, superintendent of the Ross School District in California.⁣ ⁣ But achieving clarity around expectations doesn’t often happen quickly or easily. McDowell identifies three ways to make learning targets clearer to students: ⁣ ⁣ 1. Clarity is interactive: “Telling people the expectations clearly doesn’t mean the expectations are clear to them,” says McDowell, who recommends regular check-ins with students to make sure they’re on track. Additionally, when students are actively involved in “co-constructing” success criteria, it helps clarify expectations for them, he writes. ⁣ ⁣ 2. Rubrics require modeling: While teachers may like rubrics, students can get hung up on distracting details or instructions and lose sight of overall learning objectives. To get students to use rubrics more effectively, McDowell suggests starting a unit or lesso...