Dear Friends of MAG,

As you can see, MAG has been busy over the past few months. In addition to upgrading our Web site, we have also been busy designing a conference program that will address the changes to assessment and educational programs in Maryland and the school districts. MSPAP may be gone, but the need for meeting is much more important than ever before.

To see the 2002 Conference Program, please Click Here

This year's conference will be extremely important for attendees as MAG once again will serve as the direct link to helping teachers and administrators prepare appropriate instructional strategies in response to the pending assessment changes. MAG is committed to providing as much information as possible on the new legislation and tests and what lies ahead in regard to Assessment, Instruction and Program Evaluation.

We will have presenters from MSDE and are working to set up representatives from the USDE who will help us work our way through the pending assessment changes.

Our featured presenters for the 2002 Conference will be Dr. Grant Wiggins and Mr. Jay McTighe who will hold sessions based on their Understanding by Design workshops and the overall impact of instruction as it relates to student achievement and school improvement Click Here for More. Also, rejoining us this year will be the Maryland Assessment Consortium, who will hold sessions on "Imbedded Assessments".

Online conference registration will begin in June. Watch your emails and mailboxes for conference announcements. Also, check this website frequently as we will be updating with new information on an ongoing basis as the program evolves.

We are currently accepting proposals to present at the conference. In response to the changing assessment and education programs due to the federal initiative "No Child Left Behind", MAG is especially interested in, but not limited to, presentations on the following topics:

^. Minority Achievement ^. HSA ^. Benchmark Tests ^. Program Evaluation ^. Curriculum Mapping Across Grades ^. Denying Diplomas - Solutions, Logistics, Tracking ^. Meeting New Graduation Requirements in Assessments ^. Using Test Data to Improve Classroom Instruction ^. Constructing School District Assessments ^. AP/SAT/PSAT Strategies ^. No Child Left Behind

While MSPAP will no longer be part of the 2002 Conference, staff development as it relates to assessment will still be among the major emphasis in acceptable presentations.

Please continue to let us know what is important to you. For general questions regarding MAG, please contact Julian Katz at info@magonline.org

For Conference Registration related questions, please contact Jennifer Eichel at mag@customconference.com

For specific presentation questions, please contact the Program Chair, Emily Cole-Bayer at prgm@magonline.org

As always, thank you for you continued support and participation,

Julian Katz
Executive Director.