Chapter 5: “We All Pushed The Boundaries”: Social and Technological Assessment

In the summer of 2014, Michael Catelli was named supervisor of social studies and world languages for the Somerset Hills Regional School District. Prior to that, however, he was a classroom teacher, in the Ramapo Indian Hills High School District. I was invited by Mike to visit his classes at Indian Hills High School, in Oakland, New Jersey—to meet his 11th- and 12th-grade sociology students, observe his teaching, and help to evaluate an end-of-the-year assessment project.

When I arrived at the school I found a sprawling, modern facility. On entering the classroom it did not look very unusual. The chairs were neatly arranged in rows, the room was clean and bright, and it had a pleasant comfortable feel. Posters and signs decorated many of the walls. There was what appeared to be a SmartBoard in the front, and Mike had something displayed on it. He was walking about the room monitoring students who all appeared to be engaged. All of the students had laptops—atypical for most students in the United States, but not unusual for Indian Hills.